Love's strength conquers all
by APhoenixRising
Summary: When Kaylea moves to Forks she doesn't expect much but when she meets Emmett Cullen things change. Rated M for chapter 20 only. AU. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Note: I do not own any of the characters apart from Kaylea and a couple of others, Stephanie Meyer does.

A new day. A new school. A new start. I rolled out of bed and staggered towards the bathroom, only to realise that one of my little sisters, Danielle, was in there. 'OI! Munchkin!' I shouted through the door, banging it with a much as my caffeine starved body could manage.

'What?' she screamed back, though I could barely hear her over the roar of the shower.

'How long have you been in there?'

'Not long, only twenty minutes or so'

'Fine' I shouted at the door, barely trying to conceal the frustration at my all too good for nothing sister.

A quarter of an hour later she flounced downstairs, dressed from head to toe in pink with her bottle blonde curls flying everywhere, threatening to knock my cereal bar out of my hands. 'You finished? Or do you want a manicure or something while you're there' I snapped.

'God, touchy!' she retorted, 'Obviously you got out the wrong side of the bed this morning'

'No, I just want a shower to look good on my first day of school' after that I stormed off to the bathroom, I quickly showered, straightened my hair and put my make up on, then it was time to decide on the clothes I was going to wear. I eventually decided on my baggy jeans and a vest top with my grey dolly shoes. I looked in the mirror and came to the conclusion that I looked passable.

First was homeroom, this was always going to be torture as I didn't know anybody. My plan was to bring my favourite book, 'A Christmas Carol' and sit in the corner the whole time. However this didn't quite go to plan.

All was going well; I had found a deserted corner when a girl with wavy black hair noticed me. 'Hi' she said, 'I'm Bella Swan'

'Kaylea Jones' I replied back.

'I'll just tell Mr Maraddy you're here' I then realised she was about to shout across the classroom, which was rapidly filling up.

'Oh, no, um… please, I'm fine' Too late.

'Sir! Kaylea's new here and you should probably introduce yourself' all heads swivelled round to face me so quick that if id blinked, I'd have missed it.

'Great' I muttered under my breath.

'I'm sorry, did you say something? Bella asked me.

'Oh, um… no' I quickly said back, she turned away confused. So far she was the only person to say anything to me and I wasn't going to let her go. Soon everybody turned their attention back to Mr Maraddy with the exception of one boy who had gelled brown hair and a cheeky smile.

'Jamie' He mouthed at me.

'Kaylea' I mouthed back. He smiled once more then turned back round.

As soon as the bell rang Jamie walked over to me and introduced himself properly. 'Hey Kaylea, I'm Jamie Rowlings, welcome to Forks High. How are you feeling so far?' I wasn't sure if I liked him yet, he seemed over friendly, if a little cocky. He noticed my silence so he decided to change the subject. 'So… what's your first lesson?' He asked me.

'Um… chemistry with Mr Fletcher' I replied.

'Same' he seemed genuinely pleased that I would be in the same lesson as him for two hours. 'I'll try and get you a decent seat' he winked at me.

'Hope that doesn't mean next to you' I joked. He was getting easier to talk to and my confidence was increasing.

Chemistry was simple as I had done the same course back in Chicago. A plus was that Jamie moved so that I could sit with somebody who I knew. I really was beginning to like him. The next lesson, psychology, passed in a blur of meaningless conversations with Jamie.

He promised to introduce me to all of his friends at lunch and I was looking forward to this as I only had him at the moment, and Bella. Psychology ran over a little so everybody was already there by the time that we got there. 'Right, everybody, this is Kaylea, let me introduce you all then you can go back to eating' Not for the first time that day everyone turned towards me making me blush

'We can talk; let us introduce ourselves' said a girl with long silver blonde hair. 'I'm Lauren by the way'

'Mike' said a boy with brown gelled hair.

'Eric' a boy with far eastern features.

'Jessica' a girl with straight brown hair.

'Angela' a girl with brown curly hair.

'Faye' a girl with Asian features and a big smile.

'Shania' a girl with brown layered hair.

'Leigh-Anne' a girl with long brown hair. The last three only said their names quickly then returned to looking at an empty table. This puzzled me and I tried to read their expressions, one of the girls, Shania or Leigh-Anne almost had a longing face.

'And you know me' Bella's voice had brought me back to the others. Everyone had started to eat by now so I joined in.

Something was bothering me but I couldn't think what it was so I thought no more about the girl's reactions to the empty table until Faye asked 'I wonder where the Cullen's are today?' This was greeted with a silence until Jessica sighed

'There they go again' I scooted a little closer to Shania and quietly asked

'Who are the Cullen's?' All three girls collapsed into giggles and I waited patiently for them to subside.

'Well, where to begin' gasped Leigh-Anne. 'They are an adopted family who live with Dr Cullen and his wife, and um… that's about it'

'So, why are you so infatuated with them?'

'It's because they're all so damn HOT! And then they burst into giggles again until Leigh-Anne sighed 'Oh, I wish I could have the honey blond one in a closet all by myself'

'Stuff, blondy, I'd launch myself at the reddish brown haired one if Bella would let me' that was Faye.

'Bella?' I enquired.

'Yeah, she's with him. Unfortunately' Faye added in an undertone so Bella wouldn't hear.

'Well, you can have the children, who wouldn't pass up the dad. Yum!' Now Shania was talking. Then they started gazing wistfully at the table again. I realised the conversation was over.

The bell rang then and I walked to Maths with Jessica. 'I'd stay away from them if I were you' she told me suddenly. My jaw dropped.

'Who, Leigh-Anne, Shania and Faye? Why?'

'Just take it from me, unless you want to be a CS, stay away'

'A CS? What's that?'

'Cullen stalker, then she changed the topic. Then I realised what was bothering me. There seemed to be an invisible split between Leigh-Anne, Faye and Shania and the others. The three girls sat nearer the table with the empty seats, where the Cullen's would normally sit…

Note: Would love to get reviews about this story as it's my first fanic


	2. Chapter 2

I hoped the Cullen's would be in today, I wanted to see what they looked like, what they sounded like, but most of all I wanted to know why Shania, Faye and Leigh-Anne acted the way they did whenever they were mentioned.

Jamie was waiting for me by the entrance to our homeroom and he made to hug me, but fortunately for him, he decided against it, and instead gave me a huge smile. 'Hi Jamie, it's nice to see you too' was my response.

'How was your evening?'

'Fine thanks, you?' This questioning seemed a bit over the top, it sounded like he was asking on someone else's behalf, rather than out of his concern. But that might just be me. I went to sit at my desk and I could feel his eyes on the back of my head. I quickly turned around to try and catch him the act but only saw his head looking downwards, staring at my legs, which I admit, did look pretty good in my shorts and knee high socks, but still, that was no reason for him to be staring like that. He finally realised I was looking at him and he stared back at the board, though I could see a reddish tinge to his cheeks.

Jamie decided not to walk me to my first lesson which was probably good as I would've hit him. Anyway, first was PE, and as I walked though the door that led to the gym I heard a snippet of conversation. 'How's it going?' That was Mike's voice.

'I don't know if I can do it anymore, I just want her' that was Jamie.

'I did my part, you do yours' I only heard that part of the conversation, yet questions were swimming around in my head. What is Jamie meant to be doing? Who is 'her'? Was it me? And what had Mike done? I shut the door loudly and both heads turned towards me.

'Hey Kaylea, I didn't know you were the PE type' said Mike in an awkward voice, exchanging worried glances with Jamie that clearly said 'How much had she heard'. This confirmed my suspicion that the conversation was about me. This made me realise that it wasn't only Jamie who liked me it was Mike too. Great. Not.

'Yeah. I love PE. Basketball first, bet I can whoop both your arses'

* * * *

It was lunch when I got my first glimpse of the Cullen's.

Once again psychology was late finishing so everyone had already taken their seats. There was only one seat left; right in between Jamie and Mike. Joy. This lunch was going to be fun. I was halfway through my ham salad bagel, ignoring conversations from both left and right and talking to Bella in front of me when I heard the door open. I thought this was a bit odd as almost everybody was in the canteen. I heard an explosion of giggles from the other end of the table. It was quite obvious who had just walked in. I glanced up quickly and my jaw dropped, spilling a mouthful of bagel down my red blouse. I composed myself and looked up again towards the family who were taking their seats. These people weren't just good looking, they were beautiful. My attention was first directed to a girl with golden blonde hair cascading down her back like a waterfall. The other girl was small in the extreme with jet black hair falling in all directions. Next I saw the honey-blond that Leigh-Anne was interested in. Obviously he was beautiful but he had a look about him that wasn't soft and tender like the others. The boy taking his seat behind him took my breath away. He had short, curly, black hair and muscles that his shirt could barely contain. The last person has reddish brown hair and looked a little younger than the other boys. He was looking in our direction and waved; this was obviously Bella's boyfriend.

Bella saw my reaction and stifled a giggle saying 'Everybody reacts like that the first time they see them'

'You're one lucky girl to have…sorry, what was his name?'

'Edward, and I suppose you want the low-down on them, don't you?'

'I'm not fussed,' Bella looked shocked 'but I wouldn't mind knowing their names' I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks.

'Right, the blonde girl is Rosalie, she can be a bit bitchy sometimes. The other girl is Alice, she's really sweet. The blonde boy is Jasper, be careful with him, and the other boy is Emmett, he's a laugh'

Jamie and Mike had also notices my reaction and instead of giggling they both looked sullen and their body language easily said 'Great, now she's never going to notice me'. Even though they thought that, I didn't think they'd give up and I was correct to think that.


	3. Chapter 3

It happened on the way to English lit. Unfortunately both Jamie and Mike had this lesson with me and I was standing between them, both were trying to gain my attention. I was so frustrated by the behaviour of the two boys that I stalked off and accidentally walked past the classroom that I was meant to be in. by the time I realised my mistake the class was practically full. I walked in and my teacher, Miss Kelly, accosted me 'Where have you been?'

'Sorry miss, I got lost' at my response somebody laughed but I didn't recognise the voice. I turned around and the first face I saw was of the beautiful boy who took my breath away. Emmett Cullen.

I was mesmerised by his face. I took it all in, from his full lips to his peculiar golden eyes which didn't match his black hair. 'Kaylea, are you paying attention, I told you to sit next to Jamie' Miss Kelly's voice brought me back to the English classroom around me.

'Sorry' I replied. This was going to be fun. Another lesson next to Jamie. Before I sat down I saw Jamie turn round and give Mike a smug smile, to which he replied with a glare.

I sat down directly behind Emmett, a bonus. My thoughts for the rest of the lesson were pretty much the same; I wonder what that chest would like with no shirt on? My latest thought; how could that shirt take the strain? Was rudely interrupted by Jamie 'Hey Kaylea, stop staring at Cullen' Emmett then froze and sat up straighter as if he was listening, 'Shh… somebody might hear us' Emmett then shook as if trying to stifle a laugh. I flushed and reluctantly turned to face Jamie.

'What do you want?'

'I just wanted to ask you something' I looked at him with mock interest.

'Ok, what was it?'

'Well I was wandering whether you'd like to go out sometime?' Crap!

'Um, well…' God he looked so cocky, I wanted to punch him. 'I don't think that would be the best idea, to be honest' his face fell so quickly that he looked extremely comical, however I resisted the urge to laugh.

'Why?' He demanded like a little child who didn't have their favourite toy. Right, now to make my excuses.

'This is only my second day at school, and we have a good relationship at the moment, why change it?' These reasons shut him up, fortunately the bell rang then and Jamie picked up his books and raced out of the classroom before I could say goodbye. I walked out of the door and I heard Mike call my name, so I turned back round but instead of seeing him I became face to face with Emmett, well actually face to shoulder as he's a lot taller than me. 'Hi, I'm…'

'Yes, I know who you are Kaylea Jones' in a voice that was full of hostility. I shut my mouth as I probably wasn't giving a good first impression.

'Oh, ok then' he walked off with one last look of hatred leaving me to talk to the classroom. This left me wandering what that as about. His last look was in my mind the whole journey home.

As soon as I got home, I raced to the phone and dialled Faye's number. She picked up on the third ring 'Hello'

'Hey, it's Kaylea, tell me every thing you know about the Cullens'

* * * *

I was cooking dinner, whistling tunelessly to myself when my sister, Tina, walked in reciting the periodic table to herself; she's a grade A student. 'You seem happy' she remarked whilst unpacking her bag.

'I am happy' I replied.

'Oooh, spill'

'Well, there's this boy at school, Emmett Cullen'

'Cullen, did you say,' Danielle interrupted surrounded by an entourage of people; she obviously had no trouble making friends. Before I could reply she interrupted again 'because, you're disillusioning yourself if you think you can get with one of them. I've already got my sights on Edward'

'Good luck with that' I smirked.

'What makes you say that, he spoke to me today and its quite obvious there's chemistry between us' There was an eagerness to her voice and also a whisper of smugness.

'And what exactly did he say to you?' laying down the knife in my hand.

'Um, he said 'excuse me', but that's not the point, he was obviously shy around me, and he was looking at me in a certain way' she then turned her head round to all her friends as if to ask them to back her up. Suddenly, they all nodded, Danielle had them wrapped around her finger already.

'He was probably just looking at you like that because you're a little slut, and anyway he's with one of my friends, so tough luck' she was annoying me so much I had no remorse in saying that. She practically screamed at me but she just managed to control herself instead she stalked ff with her friends following her like she was the Pied Piper of Hamlin. I was going to pay for it later, but it was worth it, I carried on making dinner whilst Tina quizzed me about Emmett.


	4. Chapter 4

My good mood rapidly decreased the next day when I saw that same look on Emmett's face, though something had changed. Yesterday his eyes had been a dark golden colour, yet now they were black, a cold hard black which made his face seem more sinister, but still beautifully so.

The next week was unbearable, Emmett was completely ignoring me and Mike asked if I wanted to go out sometime. I refused vehemently. One good thing though, I sit next to the little Cullen girl, Alice, in biology. I began making friends with her, she was really sweet. Eventually I thought she had gained my trust, that was the time that I started asking about Emmett. 'Is it me but is Emmett always moody?' I joked, making my tone light so she wouldn't get suspicious.

'No, not really, he's always happy, joking around… it can get kind of annoying sometimes. Why do you ask?'

'Well he seems in a permanent mood with me'

'Now you mention it, over this past week he has been acting kind of strangely'

'Strangely? How?' I tried to keep my voice natural.

'He's just been out more often than usual, and he talks to Edward more, as well' My thoughts automatically turned to that departing look, which they had done more often than not. Was he acting odd because of me? Alice was staring of me weirdly now, she had obviously noticed my silence, and I quickly smiled back trying to reassure her.

Next biology lesson she shocked me; 'I'm having a party tomorrow at my house, you want to come?'

'Yeah sure, I'd love to' we spent the rest of the lesson talking about what we were going to do and decide what we were going to wear. I quickly realised that Alice is a shopaholic and took clothes shopping very seriously. The bell rang as I thought of something I didn't know. I grabbed Alice's arm, which was unnaturally cold, and asked her 'Just one thing, where do you live?'

I was standing in front of my mirror, comparing two different outfits with the rest of my entire wardrobe spread out on my bed, when Danielle walked in, alone for once. I inwardly groaned 'What do you want?'

'I just want to help you get ready for tonight' she pouted. I did a double take

'What? You want to help me?' she nodded.

'OK, what's the catch?'

'There's no catch, I just want you to look good' As she said this, I could see something in her eyes, and I guessed the real reason behind her generosity.

'You just want to help me look good so Edward notices me, and you want me to put in a good word for you' Danielle flushed but said nothing.

'Thought so' I said smugly then she pelted me with rolled up socks, rolling her eyes.

A quarter of an hour later I was standing in front of my mirror again, but this time with the clothes Danielle has picked out for me. 'I'm not sure about this' I said looking down at myself.

'What are you on about? You look hot!' Of course she would say that, she dressed me.

'No, not the clothes, I don't know whether I should go to this party' Danielle was curling me hair now and when she heard me say that, she paused burning my head.

'What do you mean? Of course you should go, it could be your chance with Emmett.

'I don't think so, he hates me'

'You don't know that'

'Yes I do, he ignores me, and when he does look at me, his eyes are full of hate'

'Well maybe he is doing that to try and hide his true feelings for you' she humoured me.

Following Alice's instructions I managed to make my way to the Cullen household. The house took my breath away; I knew the Cullen's had a lots of money, but not that much. The house was white, had three floors and bay windows, but the most beautiful part was the detail gone in to the imprints on the door; family crests. Even the door knocker had a crest on it, however it wasn't needed as the door opened before I could knock. Alice opened the door looking stunning in a short black dress, she looked me up and down, 'Wow, you look hot' Her words echoed Danielle's earlier. I thought I'd never hear myself say this, but thank god for Danielle, obviously her leggings, shirt and waist belt worked quite well, but the thing is, would Emmett appreciate it?


	5. Chapter 5

Emmett's POV

Why did she have to look so good? Didn't she realise that I wanted her enough already? But of course she didn't, I've been trying to keep a harsh face around her, trying to make her forget about me, but how could she do that whilst she's sitting behind me? I don't know what to do, I want her so much, but would she want me, especially if she knew what I was. I've been in the library for the last half hour, trying to surround myself with stories to try and take my mind of the real life. I could only take one look at Kaylea before coming up here. One look. I feel disgusted at myself, I should be stronger than this, I've been like this for over 70 years. I honestly didn't think that I could face her after tonight, I would again be disgusted at the thoughts that my mind conjures up, most of which end with me hurting her. I could never do that to her, I'd rather chop my own arm off.

Just as this last thought came up in my mind Edward opened the door, I only heard him because of my acute hearing, if I were a human, I wouldn't have noticed. 'Hey Emmett, I heard what you were thinking about, I thought I'd offer my advice'

'I really don't think you would help' My tone was apologetic.

'I think that you're forgetting the fact that I am also with a human, and I've never hurt her'

'That's because you're stronger than me, you've had a longer time to control yourself' I could barely keep the envy out of my voice.

'I honestly don't believe that you are stronger than me, how many times have you beaten me at arm wrestling?' He said with a smug look on his face.

'You know I don't mean that, I mean you're mentally stronger than me' I hated saying it, but both of us knew it was true.

'So… what you going to do about it?' His voice took my thoughts off Kaylea, though obviously he meant to do that, for a moment I was annoyed at him, but he could read my anger and his laugh pulled me back to the library and his last question.

'I don't know what I'm going to do, what do you suggest?'

'It's up to you really,' He saw my glare and quickly added 'but if I were you then I'd just go and talk to her, get to know her and when you've got her trust then you can start introducing her to our ways'

'Kaylea's not like Bella, Edward. I just know that she wont accept it, I can tell by the way she looks'

'Emmett, have you forgotten that I can read minds, and I can tell that she would be ok with it, it could take a while but she'll come round to the idea sooner or later'

' I still don't believe you' I said simply.

'Fine if you don't believe, I guess that I'm going to have to get Alice to show you that she will be ok' Edward stormed off and left me to brood about that conversation on my own. What he said about her accepting who I am seemed complete nonsense but I had a nagging voice at the back of my head saying it could just work out.

Edward returned a couple of minutes later accompanied by an irritable Alice; she obviously wanted to be back at the party, not here with an older brother who cant make up his mind. 'What is it that you want?' I have no idea why she asked that, considering the fact that she can see the future. I suppose she wanted to respect my privacy.

'The thing is, I really like Kaylea and I know that she wont feel the same way, especially when I have to tell her what I am. I just don't know what to do, Edward just says talk to her and then tell her the truth later on, but I'm sure she'll react weirdly'

'Where's this going' her irritation was clear.

'That's where you come in, could you see whether she will accept who I am or will she overreact?'

'I don't really want to intrude in on the future without a decent reason' She looked at the floor when she said that, as though trying to hide her shame.

'Please Alice,' I was pleading now 'for your older brother, I wont ask for anything else ever again'

'Ever again?' her voice was skeptical.

'Well not ever, but for a good time' I looked straight into her eyes, trying to persuade her, finally she cracked.

'Fine! One minute' Then her eyes glazed over as they usually do, but then they went blank, which wasn't usual.

'Alice,' my voice quiet with fear 'What's wrong?' she briefly shared a glance with Edward before turning back to me, somehow reluctantly.

'Emmett,' her voice cracked with what seemed like emotion. 'I'm sorry but I cant see her in the future' My legs collapsed from underneath me and I sank to the floor and I knew from that quote that I would never be with her, something would happen soon that would erase her from the course of history, that thing I knew was death. Edward gasped. Edward's gasp made me think, I realized that I must do what I can to make sure that she never dies, and I must start that now. 'Just tell me something Alice, how far into the future did you look?' dreading the answer I turned to look at her, her eyes glazed over when she said sadly 'Three months' I raced downstairs before I heard any more.


	6. Chapter 6

I was chatting to Jessica when I saw Emmett walk down the wide stairs, this was only the second time that I'd seen him tonight; he practically ran away earlier. I had no idea why he did that, and I don't know why he would suddenly appear on the stairs, when I didn't see him go up them. Anyway I carried talking to Jessica, though I kept an eye on him, and I couldn't fail to see him walk towards us. Why would he walk towards us? He hates me and doesn't even know Jessica. 'Hello Kaylea' He looked so uncomfortable standing there in his jeans and shirt, however he still looked beautiful. How could he always look so good?

'Hey Emmett,' He chuckled at my bewildered tone, and I scowled back 'What do you want?' His face dropped when I said that, he obviously wasn't expecting me to talk to him like that, well I wasn't expecting him to talk to me at all.

'I just wanted to talk to you'

'Why?'

'Do I have to have a reason? Can you walk with me?'

'Well I was talking to Jessica' my glance turned to her, but I couldn't keep my eyes off the beautiful face in front of me for long.

'Don't worry about me; I'll go talk to…' She looked around and finally spotted 'Angela'

'You can't evade me now' This is ridiculous, he still looks good whilst smug.

'Fine' Emmett grabbed my arm, his hand, I noticed was cold, like Alice's, and took me off in the direction of the back wall which was glass. I turned back and stuck my tongue out at Jessica who was watching awestruck, I'll get you back for this if it turns out badly, I thought to myself.

As we neared the window he took me over to the side 'Right, not a word to my mother' he winked at me and led me through a side door in the wall which he had obviously built without his mums knowledge. When we were through he quickly ushered me out of sight of the house. I followed, tripping over small things that I would normally have noticed, but my mind was completely focused on Emmett and what he wanted to say to me. I had no idea what he wanted, but my mind was going through impossible thoughts, like that the fact that he did actually want me, and what Danielle said, about him just hiding his feelings, could be true. When she said it at the time it seemed preposterous, but now… what with him taking me away from the bustling room. No, it was obvious that he only wanted to ask me about the homework that we got set yesterday, and he took me out here because he couldn't hear me inside the house.

He stopped suddenly. The scenery was beautiful, we were underneath an old oak tree and the moonlight that was streaming through the branches was stunning, however it still seemed dull when I looked at Emmett's face again. Now we were away from the party his face relaxed into a smile that made me want to kiss him so much. 'So, what was it that you wanted to say?' I asked.

'I just wanted to talk' he replied sending me that smile again, my heart literally melted, and I could feel my legs trembling beneath me. However I stayed strong, determined not to make a fool out of myself in front of him.

'Ok, what about?'

'Anything you want' After this there was a short awkward silence where neither of us knew what to say. 'Actually, I came out here because I wanted to speak to you privately, where no one could overhear us.'

'And you had to take me on a trek?' my voice was sceptical.

'My family has very good hearing' he winked at me.

'Extremely' I said, using sarcasm so as to not arouse suspicion. He obviously took me far out so that he could think of his conversation before he said it to me.

'You look really pretty, you know' he whispered to me, silently moving nearer to me. My mouth dried quickly and suddenly he was stood right in front of me. His eyes, I noticed, were gold again. This intrigued me and I wanted to know why they changed.

'Why…' I coughed, my mouth felt so dry that I had to lick my lips to be able to talk again 'Why do your eyes change colour?' He looked a bit shocked at this, so was I, this was the perfect moment and I'm asking stupid questions about his eye colour. He moved away before answering.

'Um, I have a rare condition that causes them to change colour' But by the tone of his voice I could tell that he was improvising wildly. Now he wasn't being truthful to me, I had completely and utterly ruined this moment, and I know I won't get another like this. As I was thinking this, Emmett came back over to me, looking intently into my eyes. As I looked back I could see a look in his eyes that wasn't there before, the kind of look that people sometimes get when they look at their child for the first time, a look of adoration.

He moved nearer and nearer, until his lips touched mine. His kiss was surprisingly gentle for someone who looked so strong. However after time, it became more rougher, more passionate, his hands were tangled in my hair, as mine were to his. Eventually I needed to breathe and I pulled away, regretfully. However, his lips never left my shoulders, my neck. One of his hands was in the small of my back, pulling me closer to him, the other was cupping my chin, 'I really like you Kaylea' he said, looking deep into my eyes

'I guessed as much' I replied breathlessly, he chuckled and released me.


	7. Chapter 7

It's been a week and he hasn't said anything new to me, he hasn't been in school and he's been ignoring all my texts and calls. I'm staring to think that that magical night in the forest was a just a dream. That night just seemed to be too good to be true. He was holding my hand when we returned, however he let go before anyone saw saying 'I want to talk to my parents before anyone else knows, I'm just traditional that way, sorry' I replied that it was fine and for the rest of the night we danced and talked, I was eager to know anything about his family, as they always seemed so distant from other people, unfortunately I didn't find out much.

The phone rang whilst I was thinking about last night. I picked up and was delighted to hear Emmett's voice on the other end 'Hey Kaylea' his voice made my heart melt all over again.

'Hi Emmett, how are you doing?'

'Fine, want to come out later?'

'Yeah, where?'

'Just somewhere I like to go when I need to think'

'Oh, do you need to think now?'

'No, I just want to show you it because it's special to me and so are you?'

'Thank you, I'll see you later'

'Ok bye' He hung up but before he did I heard him whisper something which sounded a lot like 'I love you'. I really hoped he did say that, because that would finally mean I mean as much to him as he does to me.

Mid-afternoon there was a knock at the door, I raced towards it but Danielle got there first. I heard her gasp as she opened the door; obviously he had the same effect on her as he did to me. She stood there dumbstruck for a while but then Emmett decided to speak 'So, is Kaylea in?'

'Yep, one minute' and she shouted up the stairs, however I was already running down, desperate to see his face again.

'Hi Emmett, nice to see you again' Danielle was still standing there so I thought I'd do the introductions 'Danielle, Emmett, Emmett, Danielle' I said gesturing to each as I said their names. 'Right I'm off' I shouted up the stairs, grabbing my jacket.

Twenty minutes later we emerged from thick undergrowth onto a magnificent cliff top, I could see why Emmett loved this place; the view over the sea was gorgeous even though it was a grey colour at the moment, and the greens of the forest gently contrasted with the orange of the stony floor. 'Wow it's beautiful!' I exclaimed.

'Yeah it is, but nowhere near as beautiful as you' he whispered in my ear, snaking his arms around my waist. His hands turned my head to face him and he kissed me more gently than last time but still as passionately. His hands tightened around my waist and he spun me round until we got tangled up in the low hanging branches of a willow tree, he fell back onto the soft ground with me caught up in his arms. We lay there for ages; it was like it was only me and him in the whole world.

Eventually we had to get back to real life, we came out from beneath the tree to find out that the sun was already setting, I hadn't realised that it had gotten so late. 'Oh my god! I really should be getting back, my parents will be wondering where…' Emmett gently laid his fingers over my lips, causing me to be quiet.

'Shh…your parents know that I'm with you, I told them we might be back late'

'What's the time anyway?'

'It's just after 9 'o'clock'

'Oh, we've been out for quite a while' I was also hungry as I had been too nervous to eat lunch, but of course I wasn't going to mention that, however as I thought that my stomach rumbled giving myself away.

'As much as I'd like to stay out here with you forever, I'm taking you home so you can eat, I'm not going to let you make yourself ill just for me'

'If you really have to, but can I just have one look over the edge of the cliff, just to see what's at the bottom'

'Ok but be careful, some of the rocks are loose'

'How about you hold my hand so I don't fall' I thought my use of sarcasm was quite good but he grabbed it all the same 'I didn't mean it'

'I know but I don't want to take the risk, there's no way anyone would survive if they fell' he smirked at his words like it was some private joke. Slowly I looked over and saw a formation of rocks, each tipped with a point. Nearer to the cliff face was a little moon shaped beach, I leaned over further to see but suddenly there was no rock underneath my feet and I fell…


	8. Chapter 8

Emmett reacted quickly as he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to the safety of the hard ground. I was now cradled next to his chest, all this happened within the space of a couple of seconds. My tears from shock and fear made his shirt damp but he didn't seem to mind, he only seemed worried about whether I was OK or not. 'Kaylea, are you OK?' My answer of a hysterical sob didn't exactly reassure him. He took my by my shoulders and looked straight into my eyes 'Kaylea answer me, are you hurt?' I shook my head unable to speak. I heard Emmett breathe out a sigh of relief. I barely heard his next words 'I'm going to take you home now, you should rest' I nodded slowly and started for the car hanging my head because the real reason why I was upset is not because I almost died, its because I would have never seen Emmett again. I knew that was wrong, but I couldn't help my feelings.

I was silent on the way home and the last words that Emmett said to me were 'I'll call you later' and he gave me a quick kiss on my cheek. I tried to put on a brave face as I walked in the house however it didn't last long; as soon as I walked through the door Danielle was there asking me questions, I cracked after the second one which was 'What did you do?' I burst into tears and threw myself at her. She was utterly shocked but I couldn't blame her; who comes in from their first date in a state like I was now?

She sat me down and called in my mum who immediately fussed around me asking questions. I didn't answer any as that moment when I could feel nothing under my feet came back again making me shake uncontrollably. 'I think she's losing it, slap her' I heard Danielle making insane suggestions, though it felt like she was miles away instead of a few metres.

I struggled to get up but I eventually made it, saying that I needed to go to the bathroom and have a shower. Mum and Danielle let me go without raising any questions; however they did share a quick look. They still hadn't found out anything that had happened, and I was going to keep it that way.

I had just come out of the shower when Emmett called. His first question was whether I was feeling ok. I replied that I was; I didn't want him thinking that that accident has bothered me as well as it had done. He then asked if I wanted to go round his house the next day and my reply was that I'd love to. Then he said he'd see me soon and he hung up, this time there wasn't a hint of an 'I love you', however there was a cryptic tone to his voice. I wandered what that meant, I soon found out.

Just before I went to bed for the night, I brushed my teeth and when I came back into my room I saw Emmett sitting on the edge of my bed looking completely relaxed as though he belonged there. My first thought was thank goodness I just brushed my teeth, the second I voiced aloud 'What are you doing here?'

'I said I'd see you soon, and this is soon' my incredulous look only made him laugh, the sound of that reminded me of wind chimes, for some peculiar reason.

'Ok, just answer me this,' he looked at me 'how did you get in here?'

'The window' replied with casualness that indicated that he does it regularly. My reply to that was simple.

'Ah'

He moved closer to me and ran his hand up and down my arm; his hand I noticed was still cold. So many things were different about Emmett and his family, so many small things that everybody else didn't notice them. But I'm not everybody else. He leaned towards me, but I pulled away, wanting to know why all these things were different. 'Emmett if I ask you some questions will you answer them truthfully?'

'Yes of course, I'd never lie to you'

'Ok first, why is your skin so much colder than everyone else's?' he groaned at this question, though I had no idea why.

'I can't tell you that Kaylea, I wish I could but I can't'

'But you said that…'

'I know what I said, but I wasn't expecting anything like that'

'Can you tell me why you can't tell me' he took his time before answering slowly

'Because it would be…dangerous'

'Dangerous? How?'

'Please Kaylea, don't ask me anymore'

'But…'

'I wish I could tell you, but I can't, since being with you my life has become one big mess, there are things that I should tell you but can't and there are things that I could tell you but wont because they're not truthful. I don't want to lie to you but the truth is even worse' His eyes became wide with what almost looked like fear.

'What's worse than lying to the person you love?' I was almost crying now, whatever the thing was I could handle it, I know it.

'I'm not lying to you, I'm just not telling you the truth, there is a difference, please understand that' His eyed were now pleading with me silently, but I took one last attempt.

'But you're still not telling me the truth'

'I'm only doing that to protect you' The word 'protect' shocked me, it was as though him telling me the truth would expose me to something, or someone.

'Protect me? From what?'

'I'm sorry Kaylea, I have to go, I've said too much' As he said that he jumped out of my window and landed silently on the ground below. I shouted out the window his name and I said I was sorry but he didn't return.

I lay awake late that night, thinking about the conversation that I had with him. Something was scaring him, that much I could tell. That something was linked to his identity that he wasn't telling me about. However I was beginning to realise what he didn't want to tell me: he wasn't human! All of it added up; he thinks it would be dangerous if I knew, the way he came into my room, the way he landed silently on the ground and the fact that his family is so different to everybody else. I wasn't sure what he was but there was one thing I knew: the Cullen's have a dark secret.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning I was positive that last night was a vivid dream. Of course Emmett was human; obviously I was suffering from sleep deprivation. I hadn't been sleeping well since that night in the forest with him. Whilst in the shower I was thinking about last night and by the time that I returned to my room I was no longer convinced that it was a dream; that look on Emmett's face I couldn't imagine up by myself. I was irritable at breakfast and my sisters couldn't fail to notice my lack of input about random conversations. Fortunately they didn't say anything though.

As today was Sunday I decided to do some homework, I started with a biology report and as I was half way through it when the phone rang. I thought that this was a bit odd as I wasn't expecting anyone to call. I answered it and to my surprise I heard Emmett's voice 'Hi Kaylea, are you still coming over later today?'

'I didn't think you wanted me round, not after last night'

'I do, I just went so quick last night because I needed to talk to my father'

'And have you?'

'Yes' and he left it like that.

'And…' I was dying to know what he had talked to his father about, and about the outcome of that conversation.

'He said that's it's fine and that you can come round later'

'What's fine?'

'I'll tell you later, I'll pick you up at two. Love you' he hung up. I swear that he was deliberately being secretive just to annoy me. My head was now full of questions: Why did he need to talk to his father? What's fine? And was this to do with his identity?

I told my parents that I was going out again, they agreed but noticed that I was distracted 'Are you ok Kaylea? You seem unfocused' my eyes turned from the clock to my mother.

'Yes, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?' my eyes returned to the clock.

'You just seem as though you're not with us any more' her voice sounded so sad that I tore my eyes off the clock again

'I'm sorry mum; it's just that I've had a lot on my mind'

'Anything you want to share with your old mum?'

'Nah, not really'

'Oh, ok' obviously she was expecting me to share my problems with her, but what could I say: I think my boyfriend isn't human. She'll have me locked in a loony asylum.

'Sorry mum, but I really can't say anything'

'Don't worry its fine' and she walked into the next room leaving me to wallow in my self-made guilt.

Just as the clock chimed two o'clock there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see Emmett standing with a box of chocolates, the gesture was so unexpected that I burst out laughing, and his bemused expression made me laugh even more. I don't know what he thought of me at that moment, but I didn't really care. I hadn't laughed like this for ages. When I stopped laughing, I finally noticed that Emmett had a look in his eyes that suggested that he wanted to laugh as well. It was a little glint of amusement. However when he talked he sounded deadly serious 'Are you coming or do I have do stand out here all day and watch you make a fool out of yourself' my face fell so quickly, I thought he was being serious but then he smiled and said 'Only pulling your tail'

Emmett had an amazing car, although I couldn't really call it a car, more like a monster jeep. Its tyres must have been 3 feet high and there were four large lights on the crash bar. Its top was red. It didn't drive like a car either, the wheels made the vehicle bounce with every little jolt, however I thoroughly enjoyed it; I'd always been an adrenaline junkie. Emmett drove like a maniac, I quickly looked at the dashboard and was staggered to see 130mph. 'Are you in a rush or something?'

'What?' he turned to look at me.

'You're going at 130 miles per hour'

'I always drive like this, I don't see the point in going slow if you can go fast' he grinned widely at me.

'I totally agree with you' I didn't mention that I'd never go 130 down a carriageway. Apart from that chat we didn't talk much. I was enjoying the ride too much. The house astounded me as much as it did the first time I saw it, I still couldn't believe that Emmett lived here. He rode into the garage and I gasped at all the cars in there, I wasn't much of a car enthusiast but even I got excited when I spotted a red BMW convertible, a black Mercedes, a yellow Porsche and a black Aston Martin. 'Wow! You have amazing cars'

'Well we all like to drive fast' he winked at me and beckoned me to follow him.

As we entered the main room we saw that his whole family had gathered to talk to us, or just me. His family looked like they did last time, however this time his mother and father were there as well. They too had golden eyes, and I hadn't noticed last time but each family member was ghostly pale. Something was worrying me though the parents looked too young to be parents, but then I remembered what Leigh-Anne told me; the children are all adopted. The blonde haired dad spoke to me first 'Welcome Kaylea, it's very nice to meet you, I'm Carlisle'

'Hello Carlisle it's nice to meet you too'

'I'm Esme' she had a very motherly look about and her caramel coloured hair bounced when she walked forwards to shake my hand. Carlisle suddenly looked more serious.

'Kaylea there's something you need to know before you can become more involved with Emmett' I looked at Emmett and he winked at me.

'Ok'

'Right you promise not to get… what was the word again Emmett?'

'Freaked'

'Yep that's it. Promise not to get freaked out, ok'

'Yeah, I'll try not to' Emmett moved nearer to me and wrapped an arm around my waist, as though comforting me.

'Well,' He looked uncomfortable 'the thing is we're not what you think we are. We're different from everyone else'

'I'd kind of worked that out for myself actually' I smiled at the beautiful family around me.

'Oh, do you know what we are?'

'No I don't'

'Well we're vampires' my knees buckled beneath me and I saw blackness.


	10. Chapter 10

My eyes flickered open to reveal seven concerned faces staring down at me. It took a while for me to realise why I was on the floor but when I did I jumped back up again, staring with shock at the beautiful people. Emmett looked the most concerned 'Kaylea, you ok?'

'Get away from me!'

'Kaylea, I'm not going to hurt you. Trust me'

'Trust you! I don't think so'

'Ok, don't trust me but I swear none of us will hurt you'

'That's why you brought me here today; you want to make a snack of me!'

'Get a grip Kaylea, I could have…,' he shuddered 'drank your blood when we were alone, which we have been many times'

'Don't tell me to get a grip! I can't believe I trusted you, I thought you were perfect but now you tell me that you drink humans blood'

'I never said that'

'But you said that you are a vampire, that means you drink blood'

'No we don't, we don't drink humans blood'

'I don't have time for this' I said starting for the door. However Emmett moved with unrealistic speed and blocked off my exit.

'Please Kaylea, you need to understand. You can go if you wish after we've told you the truth, but please stay, if only for a bit' I finally realised that I was being irrational and I walked back to the sofa and sat down, the other end from Alice. Carlisle began to talk.

'Well, we are vampires, but we're not the type that myths and stories describe. We don't drink human blood, we can't be killed by crosses or garlic and we don't sleep in coffins, in fact we don't sleep at all'

'You don't sleep' my voice was sceptical.

'No, we don't need to' I was trying to make sense out of all this.

'You say you don't drink human blood, but how do you stay alive if you don't?'

'Well, we survive by drinking the blood of animals, it's not ideal but it keeps us strong'

'Animal blood?'

'Yeah, we call ourselves vegetarians. Private joke' he added at my blank face.

'Animals, like dogs and cats' I looked around expecting to see cages filled with creatures which they would eventually kill.

'No, not household pets. More like wild animals, deer, bears' he smirked at Emmett 'and mountain lion' this time he looked at Edward.

'Mountain lion! Don't you get hurt,' At this all seven vampires laughed 'What?'

'We are different physically to human beings, we can run faster, are stronger and some of us have powers beyond that'

'Beyond that' I replied faintly.

'Edward, Alice and Jasper can do things that that the rest of us can't'

'And what can they do?' Carlisle faced the others.

'Why don't you tell Kaylea yourself' Edward stepped forwards first.

'I can read minds; I know what you're thinking right now. You think that me reading minds is some kind of cheesy movie trick,' I was thinking that which really surprised me, he could actually read minds 'now you're thinking that I can read minds' He was smirking now.

'Stop it, I believe you, it's really annoying. How can you put up with it?' I asked the others. They only grimaced in return.

'I can hear thoughts from up to three or four miles away and the only person's mind I can't read is Bella's, which is really frustrating' He frowned now as though trying to work out why.

'Ok Edward let somebody have a turn to show off their superior powers' Emmett's voice sounded annoyed. Jasper stepped forward. An immense feeling of calm spread through me and I heard Jasper's voice 'What do you feel right now?'

'I feel so calm, the calmest I've felt for ages'

'Well that's me, controlling your emotions' the feeling of calmness left me. I was astounded.

'You can control what people feel?' I spluttered 'Like you can make them angry and you can make them sad? If you wanted to'

'Yeah but I don't like to change peoples emotions without a good cause, however it can become extremely useful, especially when a vampire snaps, which can be quite often' I backed away slowly. Jasper bared his teeth and moved threat fully towards me, I froze. He licked his lips and then he smiled saying 'Those of us who can control our thirst don't lose it very often, so don't worry none of us will hurt you'

'For god's sake Jazz, you almost scared the hell out of her' Emmett leaped towards his brother and tackled him to the floor. I began to understand what Carlisle meant by being stronger and faster, the whole fight lasted about three seconds and the ferocity at which they attacked each other was astounding. I was worried but Edward read my mind and said.

'Don't worry, this is quite tame for them' However my worry didn't subside until a feeling of up most calmness entered my body from an outside source. Jasper.

'I can also sense feelings, that's why I became a 'vegetarian' vampire. I could feel my victims fright and I didn't like it' There was an awkward silence after that only broken by Alice who went up to him and held him close.

'So… Alice what can you do?'

'I can see into the future'

'Really?'

'Yep, but my visions of the future are subjective. That means that it is easy to see what the weather will be like on a certain day, but people are completely different, if they change their mind about anything then the whole future changes. No matter how small that decision is'

'Wow, so say if I was meant to turn left but for some reason I turned right then everything changes,' she nodded 'That's weird. So why don't the rest of you have other skills?' I directed this question at Carlisle.

'I'm not entirely sure but I have a theory, I believe that whatever you're strength is in your human life it intensifies when you become a vampire. Edward obviously was more in touch with peoples thoughts, Jasper was more in touch with peoples emotions, and Alice had premonitions before she became one of us, but this was involuntary but now she can view them whenever. Whereas I bought my compassion with me, Esme brought her ability to love, Emmett brought his strength and Rosalie brought her beauty'

'And how feasible do your think your theory is?'

'About ninety per cent accurate, but that's enough about us. The question is can you accept who we are?'


	11. Chapter 11

'Yes, I think I can'

'And can you promise never to tell anybody our secret?'

'I will never tell anyone, I promise' at this all the Cullen's breathed out a sigh of relief.

'Good' Carlisle made to leave but there was still something that I wanted to know about.

'One minute Carlisle. Your eyes? I've been wondering about them for a while'

'She's not joking' Emmett rolled his eyes.

'Well, when out thirst is sated our eyes turn golden and when we are thirsty then they turn black, that's about it. Oh and if the vampire survives off human blood then their eyes are red'

'That's a bit weird, isn't it?'

'Yeah it is, but it's just the way we are'

'But…' but before I could finish Emmett grabbed my shoulders and steered my towards the stairs.

'Come on Kaylea, I'll show you the rest of the house, save Carlisle from your insane questions' he winked at Carlisle, making it completely obvious.

He led me up the stairs pointing out rooms of note along the way; Alice's room 'Don't go in there unless you want death by clothes', Carlisle's study 'All of our history in there' and the library which he, strangely, didn't say anything about. 'And here's my lair' he winked and opened the door to reveal a enormous room with shelves full of movies and for some reason a king size four poster bed. I wasn't sure why that was there as I had already been told that they don't sleep, obviously it was used for something else. My first thought of what that is earned a booming laugh from downstairs; Edward. He led me over to the bed and sat me down with a very serious face.

'So… pretty wild day'

'Hmm you're telling me, I'm thinking that this is all a dream' Emmett laughed and said.

'Do you think that a dream could imagine up a face this good'

'Whatever' and I punched his arm which was a bad idea, I'm going to get a bruise tomorrow. 'Ow!'

'What?' Emmett was suddenly serious.

'When I hit you I hurt my hand'

'Well, you know you learn something knew everyday. Today's lesson has been don't hit Emmett'

'You're fault' I mumbled

'How!' he gasped, feigning disbelief.

'You know' I didn't want to say it.

'Go on, say it' sensing my nervousness.

'You're hard' I muttered, my cheeks burning up.

'Too right I am' he smirked at me as though to say carry on.

'Now you're embarrassing me'

'Aw, why?' he poked my side, which is very sensitive, and soon I was rolling about on the floor laughing, which was quite embarrassing as I have a really peculiar laugh.

Suddenly the door opened and the rest of the Cullen family walked in, headed by Jasper. They saw my on the floor with Emmett standing over me and froze. 'What do you lot want?' Emmett's voice sounded from somewhere above me.

'Just seeing what's going on, we heard a weird noise and wondered what it was' Alice's voice seemed inquisitive.

'That was just Kaylea laughing, however weird it was'

'Oh' all the Cullen's looked extremely awkward now. Somehow Emmett seemed annoyed.

'Oh, that's all you can say, me and Kaylea could have been intimate and you could have just walked in,' he said some more but I shut off as I could feel the blood rising to me cheeks again. I hadn't been with Emmett long but I already knew one thing about him; if he wants to say something he will.

'We'll just go then' Esme took over shepherding the rest out but not before Edward could say.

'Kaylea, your thought earlier, about the bed,' he added at my blank face 'it hasn't been used like that for a while. He winked at disappeared leaving me with a lot of explaining to Emmett.

'What were you thinking about earlier?' he asked innocently.

'It's nothing… important' my cheeks flushed again, barely recovered from last time. He looked at me and his golden eyes willed me to tell him about what I was thinking, when he had that look I couldn't think straight and I blurted out 'I was just wondering why you had a bed considering that you don't sleep'

'Do you want to know why?' his voice was husky, that was obviously a rhetorical question, however I answered anyway

'If you want to tell me' he beckoned for me to come over, my throat dried and I stumbled on my way across. Was he really wanting me that much already, I had barely known him, my mind started to tell me to stop. That was until I saw him lying on the bed and my brain just thought 'Who cares!' I couldn't resist him and from this it seemed that he couldn't resist me either. I sauntered over and started to unbutton my blouse, Emmett laughed at my eagerness. I soon reached the bed, I started crawling towards him, always keeping my eyes on him. He moved towards me, seeming as eager as me, however when he reached me he brought out a DVD from behind his back.

'This is what I do on my bed'

'But I thought…'

'Not yet babe' he said kissing me on my forehead, buttoning my shirt back up for me.


	12. Chapter 12

On the journey home one thought rang through my mind; you got rejected. Many a time late at night I thought about what it would be like to have sex with him. I shouldn't have as I've hardly known him but I couldn't help myself. Since he revealed his true identity to me I have sadly realised that it could never happen; he wouldn't want to hurt me. I, on the other hand, have always been an adrenaline junkie.

I rang Bella as soon as I got home; I wanted to know why she didn't tell me about the Cullen's beforehand. Fortunately she was there and she picked up after the third ring. 'Hello'

'Hey Bella, it's me, Kaylea'

'Oh hi Kaylea, how are you?'

'I'm good thanks, you?'

'I'm good too'

'Good, I just wanted to ask you something'

'Oh yeah, what's that?'

'It's just something small. Why didn't you tell me the Cullen's were vampires?' I practically shouted. Her response was simple.

'Ah'

'Ah indeed. Why didn't you tell me? Just skipped your mind I suppose. You had more important things to worry about.'

'It wasn't my secret to tell Kaylea. Only people who are with them get to know, and you're not with any of them' I cut her off there.

'Actually, I am'

'Really?' she sounded shocked 'Emmett I suppose'

'Yeah, how did you guess?'

'Apart from the fact that he is the only single Cullen, I could tell there was chemistry between you at the party. And the fact that you disappeared for like an hour, I'm not stupid you know' I flushed and even though she couldn't see me she knew that I was embarrassed. 'Awh bless, you're with me now, a Cullen girlfriend'

'Lauren's going to hate me'

'Why?'

'On my first day, she told me to stay away from Leigh-Anne, Shania and Faye, told me I'd become a Cullen stalker, and now I'm with Emme…'

'She said what?' Bella shrieked.

'She said I'd become a Cullen stalker'

'Yeah I did hear you the first time, I can't believe she said that,' her voice sounded hurt 'I never did like her much, but I didn't think she'd ever say anything like that, well that just goes to show, proper friends are hard to come by'

'Talking of proper friends' I hinted.

'I am sorry Kaylea, but I promised them I wouldn't tell anybody, did you have to promise them?'

'Yeah I did. Sorry Bella, I know you couldn't have told me, I just don't like being kept in the dark'

'Yeah, I know, sorry babe. See you tomorrow'

'Ok, bye'

'Bye' and I put the phone down. I kind of felt bad about having a go at her but she can't really blame me; today has been an interesting day to say the least.

Over dinner the topic about me at the Cullen's was brought up by Danielle. I wasn't best pleased by this because I was going to have to remember not to say anything about their vampirism, which was going to be hard. 'So Kaylea how was it round the Cullen's?'

'It was good thanks' I replied keeping my eyes on the plate of spaghetti in front of me, afraid I would give something away.

'So what did you do?' Why do mums always ask that question? It's not like I'm going to tell her anything about what me and Emmett do whilst alone.

'This and that, met the rest of his family and watched DVD's' amongst other things.

'Is that it' Danielle sounded disappointed.

'Yep'

'So you got no action?'

'Danielle!' that was mum 'I wont have talk like that at the dinner table'

'Sorry' she muttered back, she looked at me as though to say you'll tell me later.

It was 8 o'clock when Danielle came in. I was reading the latest Darren Shan, an epic about demons and werewolves, when she bounded in and jumped on my bed. 'So, spill' she looked expectantly at me.

'There's nothing to spill'

'Whatever, I saw you blush at the table. You're not fooling me'

'Honestly there is nothing to tell, unfortunately' I added.

'So why were you blushing?'

'It's not as though I didn't try, he rejected me'

'Awh, bad luck,' she shrugged 'there'll be another time'

'But I'm not sure there will be, if he didn't want me then, he won't want me later. I know it, I know him. I blew it' I started to cry. Danielle sat next to me and put a comforting arm around my shoulder.

'How did you blow it exactly?'

'I made a fool out of myself, he acted like we were going to do it, but I got the wrong end of the stick and now I feel so stupid'

'Well then it's his fault, if he was acting like it then it wasn't your fault you responded to his actions' she was starting to get angry now and that just made me feel worse.

'No Danielle it wasn't his fault, it was mine, I thought way beyond where we are in our relationship, and he was right to stop me. It's just that I fell so ridiculous' and I started sobbing again.

'Oh Kaylea, don't worry,' hugging me tightly 'I'm sure there will be another time' I stood up quickly rounding on her.

'No Danielle you don't get it do you, there will be no other time as good as that, there will be no time as perfect as that. Just go away' however Danielle stayed rooted to the floor, stubborn as always. I gave in 'Fine stay, but don't expect any conversation' Danielle seemed shocked at this, I never backed down from an argument, our rows could normally bring the house down. She realised something big was up and she sat back down giving me the comfort that I needed without saying anything.

The conversation I just had with Danielle had me thinking; would Emmett ever give in to me? He probably wouldn't but I needed to think optimistically and hope that he would find a way in which it could happen. I'd do anything to have that moment with him. Anything…


	13. Chapter 13

'Hey Kaylea' it was homeroom on Monday morning and as soon as I walked through the door Bella came up to me.

'Hello Bella'

'Tonight I'm going down to La Push beach with a load of my friends, do you want to come?'

'What like Mike and Lauren?'

'No some of my Quileute friends, the old natives' she added at my blank look.

'Yeah ok, can I bring…'

'Sorry, you can't bring Emmett. The Quileute's don't exactly see eye to eye with the Cullen's, some old rivalry or something' but by the way she said it, it was clear she knew more than what she was letting on.

'Ok then, who exactly are these Quileute's?'

'Basically they are an old tribe of native Americans and some of the elders are going to be there tonight as well as the 'next generation' you could call them, as well as girlfriends and close friends'

'So why are you asking me?' If it was only for close relations of the Quileute's then it seemed as though I wouldn't be welcome there.

'You're a close friend of mine, duh! And I'm practically family to Jacob'

'Jacob?'

'You'll see him later'

I've been sitting in the lounge for the last twenty minutes now twiddling my thumbs whilst my mother kept on giving me looks. I guess she still hasn't gotten over me not telling me about what was on my mind before I knew anything about Emmett. Finally Bella rang the doorbell and I jumped up quickly trying to avoid the inevitable 'What have I done?' ritual from my mum. 'Bye mum,' I shouted down the hall 'Hi Bella,' I shut the door 'Perfect timing there, thanks'

'Perfect timing?'

'I had the feeling that mum was going to start lecturing me about something or other'

'Well in that case, no problem' I thought we would be walking down to the beach as there was only an old rusty truck just down the road, so I was surprised when Bella walked to the truck. I didn't realise she had a car, well a mode of transport anyway, it was hard to call that rust bucket a car. Bella saw me look at the truck with a less than enthusiastic stare and quickly said 'Don't look at it like that, it is extremely sturdy and will probably knock over any car that gets in its way, fortunately' she added after a pause.

'How well does it ride?' Thinking about the ride that I had in Emmett's jeep.

'Now that's another story completely' I stopped suddenly but started once again after Bella smirked and reassured me saying 'Don't worry, its not that bad'

One wild journey later and we were at La Push beach. It was almost dark by the time that we arrived so all I could see was lots of dark silhouettes sitting round a central campfire. A giant of a silhouette moved towards us and greeted Bella as we walked over, this must be Jacob. The darkness almost obscured his face but what I saw of it looked nice enough. As we neared the camp fire I could see more of Jacob, what I saw surprised me; he only looked about 15 or 16 but his height didn't seem to accompany his looks. He had russet skin, black hair and dark eyes and only wore cut-off shorts and a vest t-shirt which perfectly accentuated his muscular form. 'Bella's here!' shouted a deep voice which seemed to come from one of the log benches situated in front of us 'She's brought along a friend too' I blushed as everybody looked at me.

'Everyone this is Kaylea, she moved here from Chicago recently and I'd thought I'd introduce her to you lot'

'Hi Kaylea' all the voices replied at once so harmoniously it seemed as though only one voice answered.

'I'll introduce you to them separately later' Bella whispered in my ear.

'Thanks' I replied back gratefully. I knew it would be hard to remember all the names if I got told them all at the same time; they all looked so alike.

'So does that mean we can eat now?' one voice asked.

'Yep' Jacob said. A cheer rang out. A pile of food was stacked next to the barbecue, a pile which must have been a good two feet tall.

'Have you got enough food?' I asked sarcastically. Bella grinned and replied

'They all have huge appetites' I soon realised that she meant that. Me and Bella only had a hotdog and burger each but all the Quileute's kept on eating, hotdog after hotdog, burger after burger. Jacob was half way through his seventh hotdog when he looked at me and said

'So, how do you like it so far?'

'It's really cool; you're like one big family'

'Well most of us do count each other as brothers'

'Really, I've never heard of friends doing that before'

'We're not normal friends though'

'Normal friends?' I asked. Jacob laughed at what must've been the confusion shown in my face.

'I mean, do we look like everyone else?' I looked around and saw what he meant, they were all huge and they appeared the same.

'Hmm… good point' Jacob laughed again. I liked Jacob, he was a very happy person and his happiness seemed to extend to everyone around him.

'That kind of pulls us together, I feel closer to some of these than my actual sisters. Come on I'll give you the tour as Bella seemed to have forgotten' and he held out his hand. We made our way around the fire and headed towards the biggest figure. 'Hello Sam'

'Hi Jacob, Kaylea'

'This is Sam Uley our unofficially appointed leader and his fiancé Emily'

'Nice to meet you' Emily turned to look at me and I almost gasped out loud; she had three long scars running the length of her face. This disfigurement however didn't stop Sam from looking at her as though she was his sun.

'Sometimes it's best no be around them, it's sickening' Jacob said in a stage whisper, Sam smiled but said nothing returning his eyes to Emily. 'Come on, let's go' he pulled me towards a boy who looked about 14 but still had the height like everyone else.

'Hello Jake' this boy sounded very excited to be here.

'Kaylea this is Seth Clearwater'

'Hi Seth'

'Hi Kaylea, nice to meet you' Next to Seth was an older man who Jacob introduced as Harry Clearwater, Seth's dad. We carried on like this until it felt as though my brain might explode with information. Along with Sam, Seth and Harry there was also Quil, Quil Sr., Paul, Jared, Leah, Collin, Brady, Billy, Kim and Claire a two year old girl. Apparently the only one missing was Embry, I was told. All the Quileute's had dark eyes and hair and skin which felt extremely hot. They all talked alike, with an accent that was almost American but not quite. They all acted the same as well but you could easily differentiate between them. It was weird; they were all the same but different.


	14. Chapter 14

'Kaylea, where were you last night, I called your mobile but you didn't answer' It was Tuesday morning and Emmett met me in the school entrance.

'I was at the beach' I replied back.

'What beach?' he asked suspiciously.

'La Push' I said simply, Bella had told me that the Cullen's didn't like the Quileute's so I could tell what was coming next.

'Why didn't you tell me you were going?'

'I just wanted to go out with Bella'

'So what did you do there?'

'Had a barbecue with the Quileute's and talked a lot' Emmett spluttered.

'You mean you actually became friends with some of them?'

'Yes, I did. They're really nice'

'Nice? I don't want you going there again, they're a bad influence for you' There we go, I knew that that would come soon.

'And you're not?' I asked him with a smile. He didn't smile back.

'Promise me Kaylea, you won't go back there'

'I won't promise anything but if Bella asks me to go again I will'

'Fine' he walked off, seemingly in a mood with me.

By the time that English lit came around, he seemed to have cooled off a bit. 'Sorry about earlier, you just kind of surprised me a bit'

'Don't worry about it' I was just glad he was happy again.

'To make up for it why don't you come round later, and I can tell you more about me… and my past' he winked at me.

'Yeah, sure. I'd love to'

That afternoon I made my way down the winding road that is the Cullen's driveway. Emmett was standing just outside the door and walked over to my car and opened the door, like any gentleman would, he really was perfect. 'Hey angel' he softly kissed my lips, I tried to kiss him back harder but he quickly pulled back. 'Come on now, don't ruin the moment' he teased me. He grabbed my hand and pulled me inside where his family was watching the TV with uninterested expressions.

'Hello Kaylea' called Carlisle.

'Hi Carlisle, Esme, everyone else' I smiled and followed Emmett up the stairs. He led me to his room and the first thing I noticed was the lack of bed. He must have thought that if there was no bed then I wouldn't try to advance on him. Instead there was a huge leather sofa. Emmett sat down and beckoned me over, I placed myself next to him but he pulled me onto his lap and put an arm around my waist. 'Well… this is comfy' I noted.

'Indeed' he replied, never keeping his eyes off me.

'So you wanted to tell me about yourself'

'That was just a ruse to get you over here'

'You didn't have to do that, I would've come round'

'Yeah, well I didn't want you going round with them Quileute's again, so I thought that if I told you about something interesting then you would rather come round here'

'I always find you interesting, I don't need a story to prove that'

'And that is why I love you' he said simply.

'But while we're here you can tell me about you're past, I'm curious now'

'Well if you really want to know, where to begin'

'How about when before you were a vampire'

'That last question was rhetorical you know'

'Oh well, carry on. I'll be quiet from now on' and I mimed zipping up my lips. Emmett chuckled at my immatureness.

'Right, I was born Emmett Dale McCarty in 1915 and I got turned in to vampire in 1935 by Carlisle. Rosalie saved me. I was tackling a bear, but it didn't go well and the bugger got me. I almost died but Rosalie who was already a vampire decided to save me. I'm not sure why though. At first I found it hard to adjust to life living off animal blood and I admit to have drunk human blood many times. I have more control now though, so don't worry. That's about it really'

'Surely that's not 90 odd years of information'

'The rest is boring, we travel around a lot, I've completed high school 24 times'

'Ouch!'

'I know, but I wouldn't swap this life for anything'

'Anything? Surely you'd like a normal life, get married, have kids, grow old'

'Grow old?'

'Maybe not that, but wouldn't you like to have kids?'

'I suppose, but I can't really imagine myself as a dad' but as he said this his eyes looked sad, and I could tell that he did like the thought of having children.

'I suppose the hardest thing about being a vampire is the fact that people around you die but you don't, it must be hard leaving them behind'

'That's why we don't normally get involved with humans, it just makes it harder when we move away'

'So what happens to me and Bella when you next move?'

'As for that, I can't say'

'You mentioned that Rosalie saved you?'

'Yeah, she was meant to be what Alice is to Jasper'

'So why didn't it work out?'

'I don't know really, I love her like a sister but nothing more. It just didn't work out. But I'm glad about that, because I wouldn't be with you otherwise' I smiled at that. I huddled in closer to his neck and he wrapped his arms further around me.

'Thanks for telling me about yourself, I learned a lot'

'No problem, just let me know if you want to do it again' he said sarcastically.

'Don't mind if I do' and I leaned in to kiss him. This time he didn't hold back as much. He kissed me with force that matched mine, only stopping when I started to reach for his shirt.

'Kaylea please don't, stop it' he added when I persisted. I stopped when I realised that he wasn't responding any more, he just sat there. I then knew I'd gone too far, and I was pushing his self control to the limit.

'Sorry' and I settled back into his lap, wishing I could sit there forever.


	15. Chapter 15

I didn't feel to guilty about going down to La Push beach again as I told Emmett that if Bella asked me to go I wouldn't refuse. As it so happened Bella asked me the very next day, claiming that we were going to meet Embry, as he hadn't been at the barbecue. From what Bella told me Embry seemed like a very nice boy; looked the same as the others and was more reserved.

We reached the beach and found it empty apart from a dog walker or two. 'Don't worry, he'll come' Bella said confidently and made her way towards a log underneath a tree. 'This is mine and Jacob's special place, this is where we first talked' she reminisced.

'It seems like you and Jacob have a close relationship' I noted.

'Yeah, we're like brother and sister'

'From where I stand it seems as though Jacob wants more than just friendship' I not so subtly hinted.

'He does, but that really wouldn't work. Like I said, we're like brother and sister; sometimes I love him, the next I hate him'

'I know exactly how you feel' thinking about how Jamie keeps approaching me, oblivious of the fact that I'm with Emmett.

'Do you? I didn't realise you had an admirer'

'Come on Bella, are you blind'

'Now you point it out, I suppose it's obvious, but I thought that he was going out with Angela, last time I looked he was'

'Angela?' I questioned. 'He's never been out with Angela as far as I've known'

'I thought everyone knew'

'I thought Angela was with Eric'

'That's who I was on about'

'Really? I was actually talking about Jamie'

'Jamie?'

'Yeah, he's liked me since day one, he's extremely persistent'

'I can see that know you mention it, but the way that Eric looks at you makes me think that Jamie isn't alone with his feelings. Mike also seems keen to get friendly with you'

'Not Mike as well' I groan. Bella's only response has a short laugh, cut short by the fact that she remembered when he fancied her. An awkward silence followed only broken when I asked 'So, is this Embry person coming or not?'

'He should be, I told him to meet us here at 2 o'clock' she looked at her watch trying to disguise the fact that he was now twenty minutes late.

'Five more minutes' I asserted and I sat back down under the tree. Ten minutes later he still hadn't arrived. 'That is it!' I shouted 'I refuse to sit under a tree any longer waiting for someone who isn't likely to turn up'

'He will' Bella whined.

'No, I have enough of sitting here' I stood up and firmly walked to the edge of the beach with a reluctant Bella following. However, before we could make it a voice shouted.

'Oi!' we both turned round and stared shocked at this girl who was walking purposefully towards us. I presumed neither of us had seen her before but even so we stayed still until she reached us. She would be extremely beautiful if her face hadn't been contorted by anger. Me and Bella exchanged wary glances but continued to look at her breathing heavily.

'Sorry, can we help you?' Bella asked politely.

'Yeah, you can help me' she replied with the epitome of rudeness. When we didn't reply she carried on 'How dare you take away the most precious thing in my life' she pointed an accusatory finger at me.

'Me?' I replied shocked 'What have I done?'

'You know full well what you've done'

'I honestly don't have a clue what you're on about' I looked at Bella and gave me a look which plainly meant that she didn't know either.

'Hmm…' she replied sarcastically 'It might be something to do with your boyfriend' she spat towards me.

'Emmett?' Now I was completely baffled. Did she have some sort of claim on him? Had he cheated on her with me? My mind was running through potential scenarios, I tried to think back seeing if he had mentioned her at some time.

'No, don't say his name, it hurts to hear it' she clutched at her heart theatrically.

'What's your name?'

'Tanya' she seemed confused by the change in subject.

'Tanya?' I pondered 'Nope, doesn't ring a bell, he never told me about you'

'Well of course he wouldn't, he doesn't even know me'

'If he doesn't know you, why are so angry at me' My anger levels increasing drastically.

'Because he hasn't met me yet. When he does however…' she broke off staring wistfully at the sky.

'Come on Bella, I've got better things to do than this' I grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the forest. I had instantly dismissed Tanya as another Leigh-Anne, Shania or Faye. However, whilst walking back I began to think, what would happen if she did meet Emmett. With her silk, glossy hair, her perfect complexion and her lithe figure she was fast becoming competition even if she didn't know it yet.


	16. Chapter 16

A week had passed since that confrontation with Tanya, and although she hadn't spoken to me I saw her around, curiously though with a smile plastered on her face. I asked Bella about this and she, like me, had no idea what could have caused such a change. Finally I decided to approach Emmett about her. He was driving to school with me when I asked him 'Emmett, can I ask you something' I said cautiously.

'If it's about our eyes again…' he chuckled and looked at me, seeing I was serious he broke off.

'No, it's about this girl. She's called Tanya' His eyes stayed blank.

'What about her?'

'Do you know her?'

'Nope, I've never heard of her. Why?'

'Because she has this thing for you and she was really angry at me last week and now she's walking around with a huge smile on her face and I was wondering whether it had anything to do with you' I said looking at my knees with shame.

'No it doesn't have anything to do with me. I can't believe you think that, that I'd cheat on you with someone else' he sounded so hurt.

'No! I didn't mean it like that'

'How did you mean it then?' he asked coldly.

'I just meant if she'd spoken to you or something. You cheating on me hadn't even crossed my mind'

'Well, if you mean that?'

'Yes I do'

'Ok then, no I promise I don't know her' the rest of the journey passed in silence and I could tell that Emmett hadn't forgiven me for accusing him.

'So Kaylea, it's your birthday next week right?' Alice's voice pulled me out of my stupor. My glazed eyes turned to confusion which was soon replaced by recognition,

'Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that what with everything else going on'

'I'm thinking it's party time!' Alice squealed.

'Any excuse for a party with you'

'It's not any old excuse, it's your eighteenth. We can't ignore that!'

'You could,' Alice pouted 'do it on the Saturday night' I finished sending her into fits of squeals.

'Yes!' She hugged me violently earning us disapproving looks from Mrs. Grace, our biology teacher.

'You knew that would happen though didn't you?'

'Kind of, but it wasn't certain until you said so' she tried to redeem herself.

'Just one condition'

'Yes, you may have complete control over the guest list' she said, taking the words right out of my mind.

'Yay!'

'How about you sleep over afterwards as well?'

'Really? I'd love that' Alice smiled at me and spent the rest of the lesson with a look of utmost concentration on her face, obviously working out the details of the party.

As Alice said I could have complete control over the guest list I felt no guilt when walking down to La Push with the intent on finding Jacob. However, when I reached the beach I realized that I didn't actually know where he lived, I turned round hoping that someone might be there but the beach was completely empty. I decided to walk around until I found someone I knew. This didn't take too long as La Push has a relatively small population; as I was walking down the main road I saw Seth emerge from a small house, which I took to be his own. 'Hey Seth!' he spun around looking for the person who called his name. He smiled when he recognized me.

'Hi Kaylea, what can I do for you?' he asked me.

'Just wondering, do you know where does Jacob live?'

'Yep, if you go up this road and take the first right… actually, I'll take you there; I'm not doing anything else'

'Thanks' I smiled at him, letting him take the lead. I followed half a step behind, however this didn't stop him from talking; he kept up a constant stream of conversation all the way there. When he told me that we were there I thanked him and bade him goodbye, as I walked up the path to the house I realized that I liked Seth a lot '_Him and Tina would get on well_' I thought, thinking that my sister might like the company of a boy sometimes. I knocked on the door and patiently waited, listening to the locks and chains being undone from inside the house. Eventually the door opened to reveal a very tired looking Jacob, 'Sorry, bad timing?' I questioned.

'No, don't worry. I should be getting up now anyway' he said wiping sleep from his eyes. 'So, what can I do for you?' his question echoed Seth's earlier.

'Well, it's my eighteenth this week and I'm having a party on Saturday and I wondered whether you wanted to come or not?'

'Love to but where is it?' when I failed to answer straight away he answered for me 'It's at the Cullen's isn't it?' I nodded. 'I don't know…' he said slowly.

'Please, you can bring others if you want. Quil and Embry'

'What about Sam?'

'Yeah, bring everyone if you want, Emily and Kim too. Just please come?'

'Well, I'll ask around but I'm not promising anything'

'Thank you' I squealed giving him a hug.

As I was walking back to my house I thought about how well this party idea had turned out. At first I was reluctant – I'm not exactly the loud party type – but now it seemed brilliant, my first birthday with an actual boyfriend and all my friends from school and as many of the Quileute's that Jacob could round up. When I walked down our road I remembered that I need a decent outfit, and for this I'd need Danielle's help. This party was going to be awesome, I just knew it…


	17. Chapter 17

Saturday night came and I wasn't feeling so confident. I was once again stood in front of my mirror with Danielle standing behind me curling my hair. I looked down at the outfit that she had picked out for me and almost cringed; a flowery long top and jeggings. Not that I have an aversion to jeggings I just thought that I'd never wear them, they kind of make my butt look big. I mean there should be a weight restriction for them, seriously. Anyway I thought I'd rock this look up more but accessorising it with a black waistcoat and studded ankle boots. I looked back at Danielle and she nodded, giving her approval on my alterations. She also gave me dark eyes, using the smoky look as her inspiration; outlining them in kohl and them putting two layers of mascara on. I turned once more to the mirror, raised an eyebrow and stated 'Well, it will do' before walking out of my room.

As it was my party I had to arrive early to help 'set up'. I wasn't really needed as Alice is always so organised, when I got to the house it was already full of balloons, banners and everything else needed to embarrass an almost adult. I inwardly groaned but soon put a smile on my face when I saw Alice emerging from the kitchen. 'Hi Alice, did you really have to go to so much trouble'

'Hi to you too and yes I did. When you don't sleep at night there really isn't much else to do'

'Good point, but still…balloons?'

'A party isn't a party without balloons, no matter the age' she added when I tried to interrupt.

'But…' I broke off when Emmett walked down the stairs; he had on plain black trousers and a long sleeved top with a grey waistcoat. The sight almost made me go weak at the knees; I have something for men wearing waistcoats, no idea why. I recovered quickly to say 'snap!' He looked at me gone out until I gestured towards the waistcoat.

'Ah' he said shortly and walked quickly over to me, he kissed me gently sending my heartbeat into overdrive.

I was putting the finishing touches on the room when the first guests arrived. Mike, Jamie and the rest came through the door looking around in awe at the room that had temporarily turned into a nightclub (Alice's doing). I waved my arm and beckoned for them to come over, Jamie did right away with a more reluctant Lauren following. 'Wow! You look hot!' Jamie exclaimed when he neared me, I could feel Emmett tensing next to me and I quickly put a hand on his elbow to try and calm him down. This worked but not before he let out a low growl, this caused Jamie to give him a strange look and walk briskly to the other side of the room. The next arrivals were next announced by Rosalie

'Urgh!' What is that smell?' and I could see her cringe when the opened to reveal a very wary Jacob surrounded by what seemed like the whole Quileute group. I ran over squealing like a piglet and practically jumped into his arms.

'You came!'

'Yeah, couldn't let you down, and when the word spread…well' he gestured 'it seemed like everyone wanted to come. The only exception is Embry; he had other stuff to do'

'Embry again. It's like I'm never going to meet the elusive Embry'

'Yeah, he said he's sorry though'

'Tell him, it's ok'

'Shall do. You look very pretty by the way'

'Thank you' I now honestly believed that I looked good; I had been told by more than one person. It was only then did I see Tanya. She seemed to sidle in and blend in with the crowd. However this didn't quite work as she wasn't dressed for blending in. I had to admit she looked amazing; she had on a corset type top showing off her narrow waist and ample bust, high-waisted shorts that accentuated her long legs and killer heels. Her curly hair was back in a quiff with the rest of her locks hanging loose. Most of the boys in the room couldn't take their eyes off her; however Emmett only looked at me with a confused look in his golden eyes.

'Tanya! What are you doing here?' she walked towards me before answering

'Jacob said that everyone who is connected to the Quileute's can come. I'm connected to them so I can't see why I can't come. Can you?' She had put on a ridiculous high-pitched voice on and kept tossing her hair over her shoulder.

'I didn't know you knew Jacob?'

'Yeah I do, I'm Embry's girlfriend' that revelation shocked me, I'd always thought that Embry was single.

'Oh really? How long for?'

'Only recently, last week. But I love him' so this was the reason why I'd seen her around with a smile on her face.

'Ah, cool' I walked away trying to hide the anxiety on my face. I knew the real reason why she is with Embry; she wanted to get close to the Quileute's, then me and through me Emmett.

As I was getting a drink Edward came over to me, I acknowledged him and went back to pouring the punch out of the bowl. 'Don't worry Kaylea, Emmett loves you. He'd never leave you for that…' he gestured vaguely 'slut' he finished.

'Thanks Edward' I really needed to hear that, to know for sure that Emmett loved me. I hugged him and as I was doing that Alice skipped over.

'Well, that was sufficiently awkward' she said her high-pitched voice.

'Was it?' I asked back.

'Yep, but don't worry I know how to get everybody back into the party spirit' she had a huge smile on her face when she said this and I couldn't help but think that it was going to be either annoying or embarrassing. When I heard Edward's groan I was really wary of Alice's idea.

'So, what is this brilliant idea of yours?' I asked tentatively.

'Seven minutes in heaven…'


	18. Chapter 18

'You cannot be serious! How childish is that'

'Not very. It'll be fun; there are some people who need a push towards the right person anyway'

'Well, I'm not one of them. I refuse to play'

Sitting in a circle ten minutes later I asked myself the question '_How did this happen?_' Damn Alice and her ability to manipulate people into what she wants doing. I only agreed to play after she assured me that Emmett's name would come out of the bag for me. We all had to write our names on a piece of paper which Alice would put into two hats; one for boys and one for girls. It was simple really, two names would get picked out and they would spend seven minutes in the Cullen's immense cupboard. Before we started the game I saw Tanya behave suspiciously around one of the bags of names but I dismissed it when Alice asked me to pick out the first name 'Angela' I called out.

'Eric' I heard Jamie's voice say. Perfect. It was obvious that these two had chemistry, everyone noticed it bar them. Eric stood up confidently and took Angela's hand and pulled her up and led her to the closet. Nothing really happened for the next seven minutes apart from the fact that the Cullen's seem to be having giggling fits, then I realised why; their accentuated hearing. They could hear everything that was going on between the two unlucky people in the closet. Towards the end of the seven minutes though there were a couple of bangs and the Cullen's laughed even harder. I could guess what happening; Eric had obviously pushed Angela up against the wall. Time was finally up and Alice went over to the door and opened it quickly shouting. 'Time's up!' both Eric and Angela were red in the face and they both giggled nervously when they saw that everyone was watching them. 'Next people' said Alice waving the bag in front of Lauren's face.

'Faye'

'Quil' called Shania. At this all the Quileute's froze looking at Quil and Claire who was sitting on his lap, he shrugged, stood up and made his way towards the closet with Faye following him a couple of steps behind. This time in the closet it was quiet with a whisper of a conversation going on. When Alice opened the door they were just standing opposite each other, talking. As soon as the door opened Quil walked out and made his way back to Claire whilst Faye quietly made her way back to her spot looking a little disappointed.

'Tanya' called Jasper.

'Emmett' said Jacob. I froze and looked at Alice, confusion in my eyes. She looked blank and beckoned me over.

'Sorry,' she said 'I didn't see this coming'

'Emmett won't do anything with her, I know' I said trying to reassure myself. Tanya stood up and sauntered over to where Emmett was sitting shell-shocked at this turn of events.

'Come on' she whispered seductively, he stood up and walked towards the closet, though with his eyes on me the whole time.

The next seven minutes probably were the worst of my life, I knew that Tanya had an unhealthy obsession with Emmett and what with her looking like she did tonight I know he'd find it hard to resist her. Eventually the seven minutes were up and I looked towards the door, Alice opened it and I saw the exact thing I didn't want to happen; Tanya's lips were locked on Emmett's, her hands unbuttoning the buttons on his waistcoat. One of his hands were on her waist and the other locked in her hair, he didn't seem to be kissing her as hard as she was him, but that might have just been wishful thinking on my part. She had no intention to stop but as soon as Emmett realised that their little 'show' was on view he pushed her away and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. He walked towards me but he saw my face and obviously decided that wouldn't be the best idea. I hated him more for this; it proved he was a coward. Tanya emerged from the closet then and had the nerve to look pleased with herself; I would soon put a stop to this. I stalked up to her and slapped her so hard the stupid make-up on her face almost shot off. The slap echoed around the room and everyone turned to look at us. 'How dare you do that?' I screamed at her. She clutched her face and spat back.

'Oh, you have time for me now do you. Now that I've got your boyfriend'

'You'll never have him. You're such a bitch!' I went to hit her again but my arm was stopped, I recognised the cold skin. 'Don't touch me!' I shouted towards Emmett 'How dare you have the nerve to touch me after you did that'

'I never did anything Kaylea, I promise. Trust me'

'Trust you, not likely'

'I love you Kaylea'

'You love me?' my voice had risen an octave or two 'that's a fine way to show it'

'I didn't do anything…' I cut him off.

'You know what, you can have him Tanya. He really is the perfect match for you. I hope you love her as much as you loved me' I burst into tears and ran from the room, away from the prying eyes of everyone there.


	19. Chapter 19

Alice found me some time later, hiding amongst the fiction section of the library. 'Kaylea, I know that looked wrong but Emmett really does love you'

'Really?' I scoffed.

'Yes he does, you haven't lived with him for as long as us, he's changed ever since he's met you. And I think there's something you should know'

'What?'

'Tanya put hers and Emmett's name in more than once so there was more chance of them getting pulled out' I couldn't believe it, that was the lowest of the low. I made to stand up.

'That bitch!' I practically screamed. I stormed towards the door aiming to get my own back on the scheming cow but Alice held me back.

'There's nothing you can do now, she's gone. Emmett told her to get out'

'Oh well, Emmett would do that. How could he talk to her again?'

'Kaylea, his voiceless was expressionless. He's worried that he's lost you'

'How do you know that?

'Edward' she said simply. I didn't say anything; an idea was forming in my head. It was a stupid idea but I liked it. I must have looked a bit gormless as Alice said worryingly 'Kaylea, are you ok?'

'Yep. Alice I need a huge favour from you'

'Ok'

'Promise you'll do it and won't tell anyone what it is, especially Emmett?'

'Yeah, I promise. What is it?'

'Can you take me shopping?'

'What? Now?'

'Yes now, I wouldn't have asked otherwise'

'Ok,' she said slowly. 'Where to?'

'First the local supermarket and then to a shop which I'm going to keep to myself until we need to go there' Alice can't have liked the smile that was forming on my face for she asked.

'Kaylea, what are you going to do?' She seemed generally worried about what was going to happen.

'First, I'm going to get drunk. Then I'm going to give Emmett a night he'll never forget'


	20. Chapter 20

My mind was so focused on what I was about to do that I only spoke to Alice once and that was when she asked me what shop it was that I wanted to go to. 'Victoria's secret' I replied. She looked shocked but I couldn't blame her, I wasn't that kind of person. Fortunately she didn't say anything but I could see the disapproval in her eyes. She didn't say anything else until we got back to the house, not even when a brought a racy lace flyaway babydoll.

'Why are you doing this?'

'Well if you can't beat them, join them' I then rejoined the party and smiled at all the cheers I got when I produced the alcohol.

'I knew this party was lacking something' Lauren commented when she came up to me. She took a large bottle of vodka and started downing it to rapturous applause. Some of the Cullen's looked critically at this behaviour especially Edward, I always knew he was traditional but still, he needed to loosen up a bit. The only Cullen that looked like he was enjoying it was Emmett, as much as I hated to say it. He took the drink off me and started making shots which earned another round of applause.

As the night wore on I downed shot after shot, gradually becoming less and less coherent. I knew I was drinking more than everyone else but I didn't care, I was on a mission. Eventually people started leaving and I was ready. I walked over to Emmett and started kissing him passionately, pushing him up against the wall. My hands stroking up and down his thigh, he let out a moan as my hand passed near his groin. He then seemed to realise that his family was still in the room, he picked me up bridal style and still kissing me took me upstairs to his room. We landed on the bed never breaking lip contact; his hands were now exploring my body, caressing my hips and waist. He seemed to go weak when he heard me moan out loud, I took this to my advantage and I once again pushed him against the head board. 'Wait here' I said huskily. I walked towards his bathroom where I had deposited my bag earlier never taking my eyes off him. I quickly got changed into the babydoll and replaced my ankle boots with stilettos, I looked in the mirror and was happy to see that my make up and hair still looked good, however my eyes were bright. Satisfied with my appearance I walked back outside and stifled a giggle at the incredulous look I got from Emmett. He started to say something but I cut him off 'You know you want me' I whispered seductively. He growled in response and I could feel the electricity run between us.

I crushed my lips onto his, taking absolute control of the kiss. I ground my hips into his and felt the noticeably large bulge in his trousers; I ground into him again earning a pleasured moan from both myself and him. His hands slip up the back of my babydoll, touching every part of my back, stroking me softly. I rubbed my hands under the hem of his shirt, caressing his marble skin, he looked at me with lust-filled eyes and I looked back with smirk, I was glad to have this effect on him. He however did not approve of the control I had over him, he rolled over, positioning himself over me. He looked into my eyes and stroked the sides of my face, he smiled sweetly, but I was having none of it, I placed my hand around his neck and forced his lips to mine. He didn't seem to mind.

Hastily I pushed him off me, so he was on his knees and I was on mine. Between gasps of breath, rough kisses and fumbling of fingers buttons, I managed to get Emmett into nothing but his boxers, from which were displaying a very impressive bulge.

He then took control. He moved the kiss to my jaw and neck, across my collar bone to my shoulder, to the strap of my babydoll. Delicately he pushed the strap off my shoulder and then moved the kisses to the other side; I shuddered as I felt his teeth graze my exposed skin. Slowly he dragged his lips across my chest, causing my heart to flutter and breathing to quicken. When the second strap was off, I wiggled out of the babydoll; I faced him, both of us in nothing except for the underwear, which we were desperate to remove.

He kissed my again, "I've never seen something as beautiful as you, never before"

I blushed and kissed him, pressing our bodies against each others. He groaned as I rubbed myself against his crotch, he lay me down on the bed again. Kissing my neck, nibbling and sucking, where he knew it would make me moan. He lowered the kisses, to my chest; he took one of my boobs and massaged it as he kissed around the other. My back arched, causing my hips to rub against his once more. He trailed the kisses lower, until he reached the hem of my knickers, he took the elastic in his teeth and tugged gently, removing them in a swift motion. I felt his hands move from my hips to my thighs, he spread my legs and began to kiss the inside of my thigh. I groaned desperately, but also moved myself, I sat up so I could look him in the eye and say "screw foreplay" I whispered lustfully

He couldn't help but smirk as he quickly removed his boxers. He positioned himself over me, but I rolled us over, this was my night, I was going to be in control. I straddled him and placed myself on top of him, we both gasped, at first it hurt, but as I rocked my hips, it became more and more pleasurable. I looked down at him to find him staring back, he sat up, so that I was still on top but our chests were touching. He wrapped his arms around my back, pulling me closer than I thought I could be.

We both were panting heavily, our sweat drenched bodies entwined, his hands on my lower back as we both threw our heads back in delight. We were both drawing nearer and we both knew it, I felt his grip tighten on me and his body shudder as I gasped "Emmett" into his ear.

He lay back and I lay with him, my body still attached to his. I rested my hand on his chest and he stroked my knuckles, I felt him kiss the top on my head; I felt my eyelids grow heavy and threaten to shut on me.


	21. Chapter 21

I woke up the next morning snuggled into Emmett's unusually warm chest. I looked up into his face and saw his black eyes staring straight ahead, fixed on a single point on the wall in front of us. 'Morning' I said, seemingly interrupting his concentration.

'Good morning' he replied somewhat stiffly. I made to stand up but it was then that my actions the night before caught up with me; my head felt like it had split in two. I groaned in pain and fell back down onto the bed attempting to massage my temple. I looked up into the eyes of Emmett hoping to receive sympathy but he gave me a critical look and muttered 'To be honest Kaylea, it's your own fault' So much for sympathy then, I attempted to stand again but my brain didn't want to cooperate with me and my knees collapsed with the effort of trying to keep me upright. However this time two strong arms caught me before I hit the surface of the bed. 'Come on, let's get you sorted out'

After he had pressed a cool flannel to my forehead and made me brush my teeth he carried me downstairs, much to my disapproval; I was feeling well enough but he said he didn't want me falling down the stairs. A cup of tea was waiting for me when we arrived in the kitchen; I instantly reached for it and gulped down the hot contents of the mug. It was strong; it was exactly what I needed. When I next looked up Emmett was hunched over the oven making me what seemed to be a full English, the smell of the bacon made my stomach gargle and I knew that Emmett would have found it funny, however there was no shaking of the shoulders; a tell-tale sign of someone laughing. When he was finished he put the full plate in front of me and with a small smile that didn't reach his eyes said 'Eat that, I need to clear up, we made a bit of a mess last night' I gave a smile in return. Not noticing his small grimace I tucked into my breakfast like there was no tomorrow.

I made myself another cup of tea and walked back to Emmett's room, my mind coming back to me slowly. I was walking past the library when I heard voices coming from within, one sounded like Edward and the other was Emmett. I moved quietly towards the door and listened in; 'Emmett I'm telling you you're wrong'

'I'm not wrong, last might was a big mistake. We barely know each other; we only met a couple of months ago'

'Who cares if you've only just met, if you're right for each other then it doesn't matter'

'It does matter, if people find out they're going to think she's some kind of slut, sleeping with people she's only just met'

'Emmett stop' Edward muttered.

'And what if things get worse, we didn't use protection. She can't raise a child, she's only 17. Yeah I'll help but what do I know'

'Emmett stop!' Edward shouted.

'No Edward! I won't stop' he roared back 'I can't believe I was so selfish, I didn't think about her. I've been depraved for so long and used her as a relief'

'Emmett! She's outside'

'What? Why didn't you tell me?'

'I tried; you wouldn't let me get a word in'

'Oh, for the love of God. You should have tried harder!' I heard footsteps from the other side of the door and backed away scared by the amount of venom that emanated from his voice. He opened the door and I saw the fires blazing in his eyes and Edward looking uncomfortable standing someway back. 'How much did you hear?' Emmett said in a voice barely above a whisper.

'All of it' I whispered back hoarsely. He growled in response and pushed his way past me; I hit the doorframe and crumpled to the floor. I raised my head and looked through my tear filled eyes towards Edward. He made to move through the door but the tears that had been threatening to fall finally did and altered his course to sit next to me.

'I'm sorry' he said to me. He put his arms around me which made me fell worse; it reminded me of how Emmett's arms had done the same a short while ago. Edward held me close whispering those same two words to me.


	22. Chapter 22

'Emmett?' I said cautiously when I entered the now spotless room. A silence followed, indicating to me that he wasn't there - or that he didn't want to talk to me. 'Emmett,' I tried again 'I'm sorry'

'Sorry? You have no reason to be sorry. It's me who did wrong' I could now see him, sitting on the opposite side of the bed from me. He was facing away from me but I could tell that would he turn round I would see a face drawn with… I don't know what with. Shame? Anger? Anxiousness?

'No! I was the one who got drunk, I was the one who pressurised you into doing it and I was the one who controlled the situation. I should be to blame'

'But I was the one who went along with it' he turned now and his black eyes were filled with a remorse that seemed to be eating him form the inside.

'Stop! I can't stand you hurting for something that was my fault, now listen to me. You will stop this, last night was magical and anything you do now will never change that. I'm fine, you're fine, there's nothing to worry about'

'Yes…mum' he smirked at me and I knew I was forgiven – for now.

A few hours later Emmett drove me home in his jeep, once again an interesting drive. When we arrived home he saw me off with a kiss and a hug and a promise to call me.

As soon as I entered the house Danielle ran up to me and started pestering me about the night. 'Tell me about it, what did you do? Was the party good?' she was bounding around me like a child on Christmas day.

'All in good time Danielle' I said cryptically. I walked upstairs and she followed me still asking questions, I ushered her into my room and quickly checked to see if anyone was around. When I realised there wasn't I shut the door and jumped on my sister. 'You were right, there was another time' I screamed at her. She screamed in response and hugged me back.

'I told you so,' she cried 'so you did it? What was it like?'

'It was amazing,' I gushed 'though I was drunk so I don't think I got the full experience'

'Kaylea, that's not acceptable. You seem fine now'

'He's good at hangover remedies' I said winking at her.

'Kaylea!'

'Nah, I'm just joking. He can cook really well, best fry up ever' my stomach started gurgling again thinking about the smell of it. 'Speaking of which, could you make me a bacon sandwich?'

'No, you lazy cow! Get it yourself'

'Do you want to know what went on last night?'

'Fine' and she stormed off. I lay back on my bed and began to think about last night. I don't regret it; I just wish I wasn't drunk. Well, now I have an excuse for why I want to do it again. My phone rang, playing the familiar tune of Beautiful Monster by Ne-Yo; it was Emmett coming up good on his promise to call me.

'Hey beautiful'

'Hey Emmett' I replied rolling my eyes at the compliment.

'Listen, sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to call you a slut. I just…'

'Don't worry'

'You didn't let me finish' he said in a put out tone and I could imagine a pout on his very kissable lips.

'You didn't need to'

'Ok, I'm presuming you heard the whole conversation between me and Edward'

'Uh huh' I replied, wondering where this was going.

'And the bit about us not using protection?'

'Yeah' I said, getting the gist of the way the discussion was going.

'You do realise you're going to have to test soon don't you?'

'Yes, I know. I'll do it sometime this week, it won't register it now'

'As long as you do, Carlisle's researched human-vampire pregnancies and the findings aren't good'

'Oh'

'Yeah, because the foetus is half vampire it's strong, many bones get broken; especially when it's born. It also saps your energy leaving you feeling extremely weak and the rate of growth is extraordinarily quick, most babies are born within a month. All known babies killed their mothers during birth'

'Thanks for that Emmett, makes me feel a lot better'

'Just telling you the truth, if it does happen at least we'll be prepared for it and if it comes to the worst we can always emergency vampirise'

'Which is?' I questioned feeling worse with every word that past his lips.

'Where we turn you into a vampire to save you'

'Oh, well there's always that fallback then,' I said hoping he would pick up on the sarcasm 'Well I need to go. Love you' I hung up without waiting for his response. Shit. Why didn't I think about this beforehand? I laid on my bed and thought about what would happen if I did test positive, I wasn't ready to have a child and I also wasn't ready to give up my human life. I liked being a human, I love the Cullens but I couldn't do that to my family. Speaking of family Danielle entered my room with the bacon sandwich I asked for a while back.

'What's wrong?' she asked, seeing me lie on my back with my hands covering my face can't have looked normal.

'Uh, nothing' I replied keeping my hands over my face afraid that my eyes would give something away'

'Kaylea, I'm not stupid. Something's wrong'

'Promise not to tell anyone, not mum, not dad, not Tina. Nobody'

'I promise, now tell me'

'Well… last night…me and Emmett…kind of…didn't use…protection' I stuttered to her. She covered her mouth and gasped.

'Kaylea, you fool. That means you could be…'

'I know' I didn't want her to say the word aloud, it would make it seem too real, too frightening.

'Can you go now?' I asked her 'I want to be alone'

'Ok, if you need me just call' I smiled a smile that didn't quite reach my eyes and she walked out leaving me alone with my thoughts, which wasn't the best idea. I can't be having a baby, we only did it once. And what happens if I am, I'm useless; the baby we had to look after in Health once didn't stop crying. And what Emmett told me about it sounded so scary, the enhanced growth and the fact that the foetus was so strong. I'd only ever sprained my wrist before and I didn't like the sound of any broken bones. I was an algophobic, and I cried my eyes out when I used to graze my knee. I was so scared, scared of Emmett's reaction, scared of my families reaction and most of all I was scared of becoming pregnant. I'd have to test as soon as possible.

Tuesday morning came and I rushed to the bathroom to vomit up what was in my stomach – nothing but bile. _Stupid yoghurt _I thought to myself, I hasn't realised it was past its best by date until I licked the pot and saw it. Damn, I wanted the rest in the packet but I forced myself to throw them out. I told mum to get some more though, they were addictive. Wednesday and Thursday followed a similar pattern, throw up in the morning and spend the rest of the day asleep in bed, tired. Friday morning came and the usual events happened, now I was getting worried; food poisoning only lasts a couple of day normally and mine had lasted at least double that. I staggered back into my bed, groaned and wrapped my arms around my stomach, trying to sooth it. It was then I noticed that my abdomen was hardened and a little round, unusual for me as I always kept in the best of shape. I didn't know what was happening to me, my head was fuzzy and it kept thumping, _Emmett would know what to do _I thought, thinking that his face would relax me. Emmett. It struck me then, I knew what was wrong. I scrambled to the mirror and squinted through my hazy eyes, there it was as clear as day. A small bump, that definitely wasn't there before. Crap.


	23. Chapter 23

I can't tell anyone human, from the size that I am now it meant the date of conception was either before I met Emmett or just after. This meant that I must see Emmett as soon as possible, before I become too weak to drive there. I splashed water on my face and my mind somewhat became clearer, clear enough anyway. I changed, and threw on my baggy hoodie to hide the small bump from unsuspecting eyes. 'Mum! I'm going to Emmett's' I shouted whilst walking down the stairs.

'What? You've been ill for the past week you can't just go off and see him'

'Please, I really need to see him'

'Fine, but I'm not having a call when you can't drive back'

'Ok'

I turned into the long driveway of the Cullen household hoping that Edward wasn't there. I really needed to tell Emmett myself. The house seemed empty but I walked up to the door anyway, before I could knock however the door was thrown open by Emmett. 'Kaylea!' he shouted before pulling me in for a hug 'Why haven't you replied to my messages?'

'My phone was off, and I've been ill' I replied not meeting his eyes.

'Oh, are you ok now?'

'No, not really. Is anyone around?'

'No it's just me, everyone else is hunting, and I told them I'd join them when I'd heard from you'

'Good, I need to show you something' I walked further into the house a little shakily.

'Kaylea what is it, just spit it out'

'One minute, now close your eyes and give me your hand'

'Kaylea?'

'Just do it' he obliged and I took his cold hand in my flushed one, I moved it a little nearer to my stomach but stopped, was this the best way to tell him? Yes, no, maybe, my brain didn't seem to be working again.

'Kaylea?' he asked again, his voice sounding genuinely worried now. That made up my mind; I lifted up my top with one hand and pressed his hand, palm down, on my growing stomach. I flinched when his cold hand touched me; it seemed colder than normal. 'Oh no! Shit, shit, shit' he opened his eyes and they met with my tear-filled ones. He pulled his hand from mine and looked at me, though his facial expression couldn't be any different to what he normally looks at me like. Usually it's filled with love and care but now it was frightened and shocked. 'I…I've got to go. I…' he shook his head and ran through the door leaving me alone.

I sunk to the floor and cried, like I had never before in my life. He'd left me, because of my stupidness; I can't believe he'd left me here all alone. I screamed and started clawing and scratching at my face, my arms…my stomach. My screams doubled when I felt a movement in my abdomen and I automatically cringed but I couldn't hide from it. It was inside of me, there was no way of escaping from it. Well, there was but was I stupid enough or desperate enough to do it?

I barely made it to the cliff top that Emmett showed me, what seemed like ages ago. Tears kept spilling out of my eyes and every time the 'thing' inside me moved I flinched, it obviously didn't like to be bumped about. Not much had changed since the last time I had been here, but I couldn't focus on it. I was thinking about what had Emmett had said when he took me here.

'_If you really have to, but can I just have one look over the edge of the cliff, just to see what's at the bottom'_

'_Ok but be careful, some of the rocks are loose'_

'_How about you hold my hand so I don't fall' I thought my use of sarcasm was quite good but he grabbed it all the same 'I didn't mean it'_

'_I know but I don't want to take the risk, there's no way anyone would survive if they fell'_

No way anyone would survive… I wouldn't be here but neither would the thing inside me ands surely that would be best for everyone? But maybe it wasn't the best thing? I didn't know. I sat underneath the willow tree and weighed up the pros and cons out loud. 'If I wasn't here then neither would the being inside of me, which means no trouble for Emmett or the rest of the Cullen family. However, they would miss me if I were gone, so would my family, Jamie, and all my other friends from school. I can't face the pain that would come with the pregnancy, but could I face the pain that everyone would feel if I were gone?' Funnily enough I was starting to like, even love, the being inside me. It was proof of mine and Emmett's love for one another. 'Emmett, he left me. He wouldn't care if I was gone, Alice would though. And Carlisle. And Esme. And the others. But they wouldn't help like Emmett could…or my family. I can't tell my family or any of my friends. Emmett had run like a startled rabbit when I told him. Technically I am alone, I can't to it on my own' I stood up; I had made my choice. My eyes were suddenly clear now I could the see the immediate future, I walked slowly towards the edge of the cliff and looked down. The rocks still seemed as pointy and sharp as before and the beach was deserted. My eyes leaked the tears that were welling up, I knew that this would be better for everyone but could I really bring myself to do it? 'I'm sorry,' I said to the hidden bump 'but I can't do this alone' I filled my mind with an image of Emmett and lifted my foot and dangled it over the edge. I closed my eyes and only thought about Emmett.

'Wait, what are you doing?' said a voice from behind me.


	24. Chapter 24

That voice broke my concentration and I could no longer do it, I turned round and saw a boy no older that 17 standing in front of me wearing nothing but a cut-off pair of shorts. 'What does it look like I'm doing?' I responded though my voice was so quiet and strained it would be some feat to hear it.

'It seems to me like you were about to do something extremely stupid'

'Well you were right' I turned back round and faced the grey abyss that awaited me.

'I'm not, my job is to protect everyone and I'm not going to let you jump' he said with sincerity.

'Try and stop me then' I said backing away towards the edge of the cliff again, he shadowed my movements but took bigger steps than me, he was soon upon me.

'I'm not going to allow you to jump' he repeated, he held my arm and I felt myself fall into the arms of this stranger. I sobbed into his shoulder but he didn't seem to mind, he held me closer when my body started shaking. I suddenly felt so weak and vulnerable; it was like the foetus inside of me was sucking the life from me, which according to Emmett's information it probably was. I was soon shaking so badly that my knees gave way but fortunately this topless stranger caught me, scooping me up in his arms. 'Come on, let's take you home' he said gently.

'No!' I screamed; I couldn't go back there. 'Leave me here'

'What so you can jump as soon as I leave? I don't think so. I'm taking you somewhere'

'Fine, take me to Alice's' I couldn't say his name, it would hurt too much.

'The Cullen's house?' he questioned. I nodded; I would just hope that he wouldn't be there still, and that the others had returned from their hunting trip. 'Fine' he said though it seemed that he wasn't at all keen on the idea. He turned his back to the edge of the cliff and started walking slowly into the trees, all of the different shades of green blurred into one as, once again, the tears spilled from my eyes. 'I'm Embry by the way' so this was the person who was anonymous to me throughout these past few weeks, even in the state I was in now I couldn't help but feel a little pleased that I now knew who he was.

The rest of the journey back to the Cullen house was silent and somewhat awkward; I wasn't in the mood to talk and obviously he didn't know what to say to an upset, pregnant teenage girl. The silence was only broken by my frequent gasps at the movement of my abdomen. As we neared the house my wariness grew; Emmett left me, what if the others do as well? The house was full of noise and before Embry could knock on the door it was thrown open to reveal a furious looking Emmett. 'WOLF!' Get away, what are yo…? Kaylea? Are you ok? Why did you run off?' he made to take me from the hot arms of Embry but I wasn't going to take that.

'Don't touch me Emmett! You left me, you ran off' His look of incredulity wasn't the effect I was hoping for.

'Left you? I would never leave you. I ran to find Carlisle so he could see you' I was silent, was this the truth? 'Believe me Kaylea, I would never leave you. I thought I'd lost you before and I never want to feel that way again'

'Ok but… you could have mentioned that. Not leave me thinking I'd lost the single most important thing in my life' by this time Embry had transferred me into Emmett's arms and my hand involuntarily move to cradle his cold face. He smiled down at me and ran him hands slowly down my arm, however he paused;

'What are all these scratches on your arms? Was it you wolf?' I didn't even acknowledge his repeated use of the word wolf.

'It wasn't Embry, he saved me. I was going to…jump'

'Jump?'

'The cliff you showed me ages ago, it seemed like the best thing to do' His face changed from confused to shocked in the space of that sentence.

'Why on earth would you think that's the best thing to do?'

'I didn't think you wanted me anymore, and I didn't want to live without you'

'I told you, I only went to get Carlisle. Speaking of which I should probably put you down long enough for him to examine you, he should have finished preparing the room now' he looked around.

'Yeah but I didn't know that did I?' I looked around and saw that Carlisle had appeared at the side of Emmett that I wasn't facing.

'Kaylea?' his voice could never fail to relax me. 'I'm going to take you into the study and I'm just going to check you over, then we need to make a decision from there, ok?' I nodded. 'I don't want Emmett there, can you walk?'

'Yeah, I can do that. I'm not that much of an invalid' I smiled wryly at him and he smiled back reassuringly, like the trained doctor that he is. Emmett let down gently and I followed Carlisle, a little shakily at first but steadily as we arrived at the study.

Carlisle opened the door and I was shocked to see it prepared like a surgery's examination room, it was a little unnerving; I'd seen the kind of room in TV programmes and I knew this room was either filled with joy or despair. I had a feeling it was going to be the latter. 'Come on in Kaylea, don't be afraid'

'I'm not afraid' though I was, I didn't know what I was going to see. I walked over towards the bed and lay down on the crackly tissue paper covering it.

'Kaylea, I'm going to ask you to pull up your top, you don't have to look if you don't want to'

'Um, ok' I looked away before slowly pulling up the bottom of my hoodie, looking away though couldn't stop me from the feeling the raised skin on my stomach. Carlisle gasped and I instantly felt wary 'What is it?'

'Where did all these scratches come from Kaylea?' I breathed out.

'It's nothing, a moment of madness earlier. It made me feel better'

'Hmm, if you say so. I wouldn't recommend doing that again in a hurry though'

'Of course not, I don't know what made me do it in the first place' though I knew full well why I'd done it.

'Now Kaylea, this is going to be a little cold' I tensed but still jumped as the cold jelly touched my warm skin. I soon felt the jelly being spread across my stomach; I closed my eyes and filled my mind with thoughts of Emmett. I didn't want to think that there was an image of my child on a screen just feet away.

I could soon feel Carlisle wiping my stomach with tissue, riding it of the jelly. 'It's all over now Kaylea, you can sit up. I'm just going to call Emmett in and I'll tell you everything' I nodded and Emmett ran though the door, he sat next to me and placed my hands in his.

'How's our baby? Carlisle tell us!' he practically shouted.

'There is no baby'

'WHAT?' he literally shouted this time. 'What the hell you on about Carlisle?' Carlisle kept relaxed though 'Like I said, there is no baby. What Kaylea is going through right now is pseudocyesis, more commonly known as a false or hysterical pregnancy. All the symptoms of being pregnant but no actual foetus' Emmett started asking Carlisle loads of questions but I was silent; I wasn't pregnant, there was no baby inside of me and I wasn't going to die as a result from it. 'Kaylea? Are you alright? You haven't spoken' Carlisle asked me.

'I'm fine, it's just a shock. You're not kidding me are you?'

'No Kaylea' he said gently. I smiled, the first proper smile I'd smiled for a week or so.

I sat next to Emmett on his sofa, snuggled into his shoulder thinking about the last couple of weeks. I had been through a lot but I had Emmett stronger now than before, it really seems that love's strength does conquer all.

****A.N – So that's it – my first fan-fic complete. I hope you liked it and I hope that my writing got better throughout. Would still love feedback though****


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